Up in the air: Kites to take to the skies in Edgewood for annual festival

Roger Alink grew up making kites on a farm in Minnesota.

The conditions are a little different in the Land of Enchantment than they are in the Great Lakes region, but even at 77 years old, the Wildlife West Nature Park owner and founder enjoys getting outside and letting one of his stunt kites hit the New Mexico skies.

“The wind is not as consistent here in Edgewood as it is back in Minnesota where I grew up — the wind will blow all night long (there),” Alink said. “We used to put our kite up and come out in the morning, and the kite was still up. It’s pretty amazing.”

Up in the air: Kites to take to the skies in Edgewood for annual festival

Nonetheless, the park, with a 30-acre field located on the outskirts of the zoo, provides an ideal platform for kiting enthusiasts in New Mexico. On Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5, it will be the setting for the 22nd annual Kite Festival. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is free to the public.

“It’s just a great family event and it’s fun,” Alink said. “We always hope the wind is moderate. We can’t control that. We used to complain about the wind, now we celebrate it for two days.”

Over the course of the weekend, Alink estimates that approximately 100 kites will be in the air. It’s a visual spectacle, one that tends to draw appreciative honks from motorists driving by on Interstate 40.

One doesn’t need to be a kite expert — or even own a kite — to attend. Professionals such as Carveth Kramer will be on hand for demonstrations and will also be available to assist novices who might be struggling to get off the ground. Attendees can purchase a kite at the event.

“We have an awesome variety of all kinds of kites,” Alink said. “We have some Deltas that are really easy to fly, but we offer specialty kites, too. If you want to get some special shapes, we have it. There’s a little booth out there, right in the kite field. You can just buy your kite right there.”

The advanced kite flyers, many of whom utilize two-string models, are capable of impressive feats. Some kites can get as high as 500 feet in the sky, while other flyers perform tricks such as walking the dog, where the kite will hover and bounce along the ground before returning to the air. Other kites are large enough to necessitate being tied to a car bumper instead of being held by hand.

The truth is, there are all varieties of kite skills, shapes and sizes at the festival. It’s all a matter of preference.

“I have a stunt kite, and in the maneuver, you can get the kite 100 miles an hour,” Alink said. “It’ll tug on you real hard, so you’ve got to brace yourself and hang on to that kite.

“It takes practice to get good at that (two string). There’s people that enjoy doing that. The little kids’ kites, they just love to hang on to the string. The professional kiters, they always want to do stunts.”

There are also prizes awarded for best homemade kite, highest flyer — and even most spectacular crash. The winners, usually on the younger side, receive stuffed animals from the zoo gift shop. There will be a food truck on hand, and the Wildlife West Nature Park is an added attraction as Kite Festival visitors often make a day of it by purchasing a ticket to the zoo.

“We have 27 different species of rescued native wildlife,” Alink said. “So it’s a fun thing. You can fly your kite and you can go see the zoo, too.”