Go fly a kite: Huge kites take center stage on windy afternoons at balloon fiesta

Normally hot air balloons are the aerial attraction that draw crowds to balloon fiesta park every October. But on Sunday afternoon, it was a different type of flying object that caught people’s attention.

Kites. Well, to be more specific, kites that were shaped in the form of Clifford the Big Red Dog, a beaver, a trilobite, and a gorilla. These specialty kites were all courtesy of Great American Kites & Events, an organization that made its debut at the 51st Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

For co-founder and president of Great American Kites & Events Sean Beaver, the first glimpse of Balloon Fiesta Park was a special experience for both him and his team.

“I gotta be honest, for someone who’s not seen a scale of this size, my whole crew was just, it was like an out of body experience,” Beaver said.

As a self-described “really big kid because he flies really big kites,” Beaver has had a lifelong connection to kites. He started flying them as a kid, then became more interested in the hobby after taking a physics class in college.

“We decided to make a kite big enough to lift a bowling ball 100 feet off the ground,” Beaver said. “It just kind of sparked an interest.”

The interest quickly grew into the idea of starting Great American Kites & Events. As its website described the company, it is “the leader in the amazing memory industry.”

Beaver says the company travels to more than 40 events in eight states every year.

The team often stops at events featuring hot air balloons, offering a sort of yin to the yang of the balloons. If the wind is too strong for balloon flights, then it’s just right for the kites.

And the more flights they have, the more they get a chance to pursue their company mission, according to Stephany Beaver, co-founder and wife to Sean.

“The opportunity to bring people together and look up to get communities all really caring about having something that helps them look up in life, it’s really about having something that is good and inclusive for everyone,” she said.

Those watching the kites fly on Sunday afternoon were certainly doing a lot of looking up and there were plenty of smiles as well.

For Sean Beaver, it just reinforces his lifelong love of kite flying and the joy that it can bring to others.

“This is literally a passion, this is something that’s in my soul to do,” he said.

His wife is also hopeful those in attendance will take up kite flying themselves. “If we can actually make a genuine kite flier from their experience, that would be everything to us,” she said.

Those who didn’t get a chance to see the kites in action will have three more opportunities to see them on Thursday at 4 p.m., Friday at 4 p.m., and on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Beaver is hopeful this won’t be the last fiesta the team attends either, saying he was struck by how meaningful this annual celebration is.

4+ pictures of the coolest kites you will ever see

“I hope this community realizes how blessed they are, I drove 1,100 miles to get here, zero regrets, zero,” he said.