Bali Kite Festival

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The Bali Kite Festival is an annual international kite festival held in July at Padang Galak area, Sanur Beach, Bali. Traditional giant kites (4 meters wide and nearly 10 meters long) are made and flown competitively by teams from villages (biar banjar ) Denpasar. This event is a seasonal religious festival intended to send a message to the Hindu gods to create abundant harvests and crops.

The team consists of about 70 to 80 people, each team with band Gamelon, flag bearer, and leaflets.

Bebean (shaped fish), Janggan (bird-shaped) and Pecukan (leaf-shaped) are three traditional kites that are flown during this kite festival. These kites are flown by teams of 10 or more adult kitefliers. The Bebean is the largest kite, and looks like a wide-eyed, split-tailed fish. The Janggan form has a wide flowing fabric tail that can reach over 100 meters in length.

The hooves need the skill to fly, because their unstable shape often falls to the ground. Red, white and black are the traditional colors used in the design of kites. Each type of traditional kite has its own competition, by heating 10 teams that compete for the best launch and longest flight. Sometimes kites descend on adjacent fields, and team members have to run past the fields to save the kites before landing in the water.

A competition is also held for New Creation 'kites that may include detailed three-dimensional figures representing Hindu deities or sponsor kites. Traditional and new creation kites are built from bamboo and cotton fabrics.

In the dry season from June to August, the wind is blowing continuously from east to west in most parts of Indonesia. Balinese children and adults flew kites in empty fields during this period.

Gamelan orchestras play music throughout the festival. The festival attracts many tourists and international kitefliers, along with many local audiences.

Bali Kite Festival

Jumat, 08 Juni 2018