Blossom Kite Festival 2012 on the National Mall in Washington, DC

The Blossom Kite Festival, previously named the Smithsonian Kite Festival, is an annual event that is traditionally a part of the festivities at the National Cherry Blossom Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Kite enthusiasts show off their stunt skills and compete for awards in over 36 categories including aerodynamics, beauty, box, and funniest. Top prizes are given for the Theme Award, People’s Choice, Family Trophy, and Highest Overall Score. The Kite Festival is one of the most popular annual events in Washington, DC and features kite fliers from across the U.S. and the world. After 44 years of Smithsonian sponsorship, the annual display of kite showmanship is now being produced by the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Date and Time
March 31, 2012, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Location
On the grounds of the Washington Monument, Constitution Avenue & 17th Streets, NW Washington, DC. The most convenient Metro stations are Smithsonian and Federal Triangle. For more information about getting to the festival, see Cherry Blossom Festival Transportation Guide

See Photos of the Kite Festival in Washington DC

Kite Festival Highlights

• Displays of hand-made kites
  
  
• Flight demonstrations by Master kitemakers from across the U.S. and other countries
  
  
• The Hot Tricks Shootout is a stunt kite flying competition. Pairs of fliers compete against each other to see who can do the most interesting tricks in a 30 second countdown. At the end of each 30-second segment, the flier changes and every 3 minutes a winner is determined for each round. Winners of each of the rounds stay in the competition and the flier who is left at the end of all rounds is the winner of the event.
  
  
• The Rokkaku Battle is held at the end of the day when individuals or teams try to cut or ground the other kites. The last kite in the sky wins the contest.

Schedule of Events

Demonstration Field

• 10:15 a.m. - noon - Kite Ballets & Demonstrations
  
• noon-1:00 p.m. - Youth Kite Makers Competition (Hand-made kites only)
  
• 1:00-2:00 p.m. - Kite Ballets & Demonstrations

Competition Field

• 10:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m. - Kite Makers Showcase (Hand-made kites only)
  
• 1:00-2:00 p.m. - Kite Makers Competition (Hand-made kites only)
  
• 2:00-3:00 p.m. Hot Tricks Showdown
  
• 3:00-4:00 p.m. Rokkaku Battle

See also the schedule of events at the National Cherry blossom festival