Jul 11, 2022 - Things to Do

Kites soar above Belle Isle

Cricket field on Belle Isle was filled with kite flyers of all ages and experience Sunday. Samuel Robinson/Axios

Cricket field on Belle Isle was filled with kite flyers of all ages and experience Sunday. Photo: Samuel Robinson/Axios

More than a thousand people scattered around Belle Isle's James Scott Fountain Sunday for the fourth annual Detroit Kite Festival.

  • "This was a smaller scale version than the ones we've put together in the past and we still had a great turnout," festival founder Margo Dalal tells Axios.

The intrigue: The event brought a mix of amateur and longtime kite flyers. Detroit's Windjammers International Kite Team performed a stunt show featuring a mechanical, drone-like kite flown by Jon Penn of Macomb County.

  • The team has flown together in international festivals since 1983, and has put on a show at the local t festival since its inaugural year in 2017.

What they're saying: "When the wind is going and it really gets up and flying, you can tell how much kids like it," Darryl Waters of Holland tells Axios. "That one smile is worth the drive here."

Jon Penn of Detroit Windjammers International Kite Team with his custom gimbal kite designed for flight control. Samuel Robinson/Axios
Jon Penn of Detroit Windjammers International Kite Team with his custom kite. Photo: Samuel Robinson/Axios
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