40th Anniversary Santa Barbara Kite Festival

Postponed last Sunday (4/12) due to rain, The 40th Anniversary Santa Barbara Kite Festival returns this Sunday, April 21st, 2026 to the “Great Meadow” on the West Campus lawn at Santa Barbara City College. The festival is a community free flying festival with organized flying contests and demos.
The “Great Meadow” is located on the West Campus of Santa Barbara City College, 721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, Ca 93109. Admission to the festival is free. Parking is available on both west campus and the main campus. Kites, food, and beverages can be purchased at the event. Sunnier skies are expected to complement this year’s theme “You and Me”. Festival organizers selected the theme to celebrate the love, laughter, and togetherness of families and friends at the yearly event.
The “Childrens Tail Chase” is guaranteed to generate even more fun and laughter at the festival. The tail chases feature groups of kids chasing and capturing the tail of a kite expertly flown by festival’s kite master Rakesh Bahadur. The festival schedule is full with family-friendly kite contests including “Most Beautiful” (handmade & commercial), “Highest Flying”, “Largest & Smallest Kites”, ”Youngest & Oldest Kite Flyers”, “Most Unique Or Unusual Kite”, “Funniest Kite”, “Most Unflyable Kite”, “Best Handmade Kite” (a new category), and “Best of Fest” – recognizing the best overall kite entry and participant of the day. Finally, festival organizers will select this year’s winner of the “Lion Award”- created in the memory of local legend Chad Dreier and presented by the Dreier family. ##