Kite Festival

Cary

When: Saturday. Registration begins at 12:30 p.m. Award winners are announced at 2:30 p.m. The rain date is Sunday.

Where: Fred G. Bond Metro Park, 801 High House Road, Cary

What: Cary's 13th Annual Kite Festival celebrates high-flying and not-so-high-flying kites. With award categories that include the "most un-flyable kite" and "best crash," even the worst kite flier out there could go home a winner. (Winners take home a certificate and Bond Park boat passes). And if you don't feel like competing, organizers say many folks come just to watch or to fly their own kites for fun.

The event is free for participants and spectators.

Who goes: All ages.

What to know before you go: Even on the windiest beach days when the sky is filled with the rainbow colors and fancy designs of elaborate kites, my kite always ends up in the sand.

Don Dixon of Kites Unlimited in Atlantic Beach (and formerly of Durham and Raleigh) gives a few tips. Dixon and his staff will be at the festival to help repair broken kites, give flying tips and, possibly, demonstrate some stunt kite flying, depending on the weather.

The big tip is pretty basic: "To fly a kite, you have to start with a good kite and assemble it correctly," he says.

For first-time kite fliers, Dixon recommends the Delta style kite, a triangular-shaped kite that is also shaped like the Greek letter delta. It should be at least 4 feet wide. Bigger is better, he says.

You need suitable wind. Eight to 16 mph is good, though that is hard to find in the Triangle. Most of the good wind is above the 60-foot-tall pine trees, making it hard for kites to get off the ground sometimes, he says.

You shouldn't have to run with your kite, he says. The wind should pick it up. But little kids like to run. And running with a kite is an easy way to get it off the ground, he says. There's nothing wrong with that.

"The child can run with the kite and it will fly, and they've had all the fun they need," Dixon says. "It works brilliantly in that respect."

If you don't have your own kite, it's pretty easy to make one at home. Dixon said the sled-style kite is the easiest. All you need is a piece of paper and some string. Kids can even decorate the paper for extra beauty.

Go to www.nationalkitemonth.org/plans/boca.shtml for detailed plans on how to build the kite.

Cary will also offer kite-making classes for kids from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Cary Senior Center, which also is at Bond Park. Kite Capers is for children ages 3 to 5 with their parents. High in the Sky is for ages 5 to 10 with or without a parent.

The class is $16 for Cary residents and $21 for nonresidents. Registration is required, but you can do that at the door a few minutes before 10 a.m.

Can't go to the festival this weekend? There's another chance to get some kite flying pointers.

Cameron Village Library, 1930 Clark Ave. in Raleigh, will host a family kite making workshop at 2 p.m., March 15. It is aimed at school-age children and their parents, though younger siblings are welcome. No preregistration is required.

For more information about the Cary Kite Festival, go to www.townofcary.org/depts/prdept/events/kitefestival.htm or call 469-4100.

For more information about the Cameron Village Library program and other events in honor of famous kite flier Benjamin Franklin, go to www.wakegov.com/benfranklin/events.htm.