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It started as a protest against the Dodgers gondola. LA's Kite Festival now draws thousands

Hundreds crowd a grassy area at Los Angeles State Historic Park. There are dozens of colorful kites in the air.
The scene at last year's Clockshop Kite Festival.
(
Gina Glyne/Gina Clyne Photography
/
Courtesy Clockshop
)

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Listen 0:37
This Kite Festival started out as a form of protest. Now it's bringing thousands to Chinatown
Here's Robert Garrova.

The sky above Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown will be dotted with color Saturday with the annual Kite Festival.

Clockshop's Kite Festival
Los Angeles State Historic Park
Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m.

The festival had its beginnings as a joyful protest in 2021, back when a proposal for a Dodger Stadium gondola included cutting through the airspace above the park. Organizers say last year’s Kite Festival drew a crowd of about 7,000.

“The Kite Festival, [for] some people, it’s their favorite day in Los Angeles,” said Sue Bell Yank, executive director of Clockshop, the nonprofit arts org that runs the festival. “It’s the time when they really feel connected to their city. More so than any other time.”

This year’s programming includes a kite-making station where you can build your own flying art for a donation of $5, along with art workshops and the unveiling of a large floating, inflatable sculpture by Guatemalan kite artist Francisco Ramos.

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