The annual Wind Festival, held this year on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Ocean Park.
The first wind festival took place in 1967. There were numerous prizes including best kite, highest kite and longest flying kite.
This year’s Martha’s Vineyard Wind Festival was full of surprises. The morning was full of promise The weather was reported to be dry and breezy along the coast. The tent was set up for kite building. Kids arrived to build kites and although it was really breezy, our volunteers had a good time working along with the kids to get the kites aloft.
Holly Alaimo, director of the annual Martha’s Vineyard Wind Festival, found an abandoned kite in the road earlier this year. The kite was shaped like an eagle, but the bird was flightless— cars were running right over it, she recalled. Ms. Alaimo took the kite and fixed it up, bringing it to the Wind Festival on Saturday.
The annual Martha’s Vineyard Wind Festival is blowing into Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs on Saturday, October 12. Wind power will set kites to flying, frisbees to sailing and boats to floating as folks gather at the park. A free kite-making session for children is from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with flying competitions beginning at noon.
Teens can compete from 1 to 2 p.m. and the adult competition is from 2 to 4 p.m. There will be frisbee games throughout the afternoon and model sailboat races for children are planned.
The Martha’s Vineyard Wind Festival takes place on Saturday, Oct. 12, but no need to wait to get in the kite-flying mood. The poster for the event was created by Traeger di Pietro and is available now for $20. Sales of the poster benefit the American Cancer Society’s breast cancer research. Posters are available at the Field Gallery in West Tisbury, Craftworks in Oak Bluffs, the Island Art Gallery in Vineyard Haven or by contacting Holly Alaimo at 508-693-5444.