Berkeley Kite Festival

This annual event is for sure a fun free event, I'd imagine a must-see if you are a kite fanatic. Bringing my son for the first time, it was fun for him to see the kites, although he was a little too young to truly appreciate them. :: He's 2.::I'd say at anytime there were about 10-15 large balloons taking up the skies of Caesar Chavez park and loads of small, more amateur kites. :: Who knew the kite biz was so popular and thriving?:: The festival is in the main grassy area, which was crowded with booths, rides and people, but the main path along the water, no one. We were able to enjoy the walks and the views and then walk into the festival.We rode our bikes and there was ample free bike parking. They had free shuttles which had incredibly long lines. A lot of traffic and high priced parking, but I did see a ton of people walking over the bridge towards 4th St.Overall, a solid kid friendly event that lets you enjoy a beautiful park, the beautiful views, sunshine and some pretty epic kites!

Warm and a fair amount of wind for the kites to fly itself and no need to run to get it up and self-flying! Breezy day and admirable kites to be looking over the waters and hills here.There are food trucks and jumpy jumpy play area for kids. One can set up campground here for the day if wanted! Family fulfilling fun!

We travel from Napa to go to Berkeley's annual kite festival. Our second year in attendance. This festival brings out the best nature in people. So many families are there and set up blankets, shade, and bring foods. Many people buy kites on sale. Start setting up their new kites. Testing the kites and then (hopefully!) get kites airborne and flying them! Kids laugh watching the kites flick & flitter in the sky. Kids try to follow their Kite and catch them ;-)So many colors, designs and sizes. Soapy water bubbles are also in the sky ;-)Many food trucks to choose from. It ran July 27 & 28. Come hungry: ice cream sandwiches, caramel corn, chicken and waffles, French fries, snow cones, etc.Plan waaaaay early arrival to find parking spot relatively close, at $20.Lots of kid activities; Petting Farm animals, choice of 3 blow up jumping air rooms, face painting, pony rides, too! Delightful way to spend a Sunday. Even if my "baby" is 26 years old and more than 2,000 miles away!m

Plan this outing right and you will have an enjoyable experience. I did my research on the event site and on yelp. Read the reviews and tips! Here are a few that I thought were really useful:*Bring cash - there are ATMs in a couple of spots, but come prepared and avoid those ATM fees. You'll need cash for vendor purchases*Bring Cash/foldable chairs/tent- you'll want something to sit on. Otherwise you will be sitting on brown grass. Note: there are specific places where you can only lay down blankets. *Dress in layers- it can be cold, windy and cloudy when you arrive. Clouds will move and burn out then hello Sun!*If you dress in short sleeves or shorts, bring sun screen. *Bathroom situation- porta pottys. Bring some wipes and hand sanitizer. There are stations to wash your hands but for that extra clean feel. *Make it a day- bring your own kites, bring some snacks, make it a picnic- bring sandwiches, waters and buy the sweet stuff there. *Traveling with younger kids? Bring a wagon they can sit on or store snacks/ goodies. We arrived before 930 am (event start is 10). Was able to park at the Marina ($15) and totally walkable to the event. It's a dusty parking area. Do not wear your Sunday best. Wear comfy shoes. It's an all day event that requires walking. Be smart about it. If you arrive after 10- park at golden gate fields and take the free shuttle. We enjoyed seeing the beautiful large kites- the octopi were our favorites. But you can see several other kites in the air. They have shows and competition too. Also for kids, there is a free kite making section (starts at 11) and all it is, is a plain white sheet of paper, which they provide the string for you to fly it. Kids can decorate it, but on the tables, it is really hard to draw on it. You can also buy kites there if you want to spend the money. There are kid play areas and pony rides and a petting zoo- warning! There is a cost per child to do these things. Also, take the time to walk around. See the kites from different angles. My little fam and I enjoyed this really cool experience.

It's still a lot of fun, but it's gone from a sweet event to a commercial nightmare. I regret we ever walked over to the Kidzone and got trap spending a lot of money there for mediocre entertainment and activities. It's become very crowded and it's difficult to navigate the walkways, especially with strollers. The part we liked best was the bus ride from the parking lot. We got there early so the buses were ready to go when we were and we didn't wait at all for a ride back. The bus ride gave us great views of the city and surrounding area.It was worth taking our friends from Kentucky there, especially to see the views. It was very sad that one of our girls, four years old, let go of her string and her kite flew into the bay. It was from the free make your own kite activity, and she assured us there was no kite that would ever be as perfect, with such a perfect drawing, and there was no sense in doing another one because it was the best kite in the universe. It was very sad and also very funny. But of course to her we just agreed it was sad.

I absolutely adore the Berkeley Kite Festival! Wow, where do I start! I've always been in awe by the sheer size and rhythmic movements of the giant squids. With some gargantuan new additions this year, the festival has become even better than the last, and will probably only get bigger in the coming years! This festival is for anyone and everyone! Anyone can fly a kite and everyone can enjoy the beautiful scenery of, at any given time, hundreds of kites flying simultaneously. Whether you bring your own kite or just come for the entertainment factor of watching others fly, it's pure amusement nonetheless. Cesar Chavez Park serves as the perfect venue for the must needed passing sea breeze and open space to house the multitude of kites. With the showcase of kites, comes the kite competitions and aerial shows from kite professionals! Bring some foldable chairs or a blanket and watch the kites compete in the sky! It's not a festival without food and activities right? There's a huge selection of food stands, inflatable obstacle courses and even a petting zoo! There's so much to see and do here at the Berkeley Kite Festival. The festival is a 2 day weekend long event and something I look forward to attending every year. Come see a fantastic showcase of flying squids and awe amazing scenery!

Location, location, location. Larger than life kites with the fricking OCEAN and clear blue sky as a backdrop. Simply breathtaking... not to mention there were some beautifully vibrant kites of all shapes and sizes floating amongst them and being flown by enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels (the set up for a true family friendly event :D ).Looooved that they had different segments going on throughout the day and that it wasn't just a bunch of random people flying kites. That wouldn't have been bad either since I'm fairly easy to please when it comes to my mini Vi-adventures, but it was nice. For the kiddies, they dropped candy from one of the large kites -- kind of a pinata/egg hunt type of situation. This was separated by age group, of course, so as not to get the smaller children trampled on. They also did this kite showdown where professional handlers would attempt to take down the kites of others in a last-man-standing competition. Exciting stuff for a dork like me.In terms of the venders, it seemed like your generic county fair fare, but I have to say, I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff either way. Grabbed myself a turkey leg for $10 that everyone kept stopping me to ask about. Of course, there was the shaved ice, hot dogs, garlic fries, and even dry ice drinks as well as booths selling jewelry and/or other nick nacks. Certainly enough things to eat and peruse through to keep ya busy.BUT this festival falls just short of five stars and here's why: the parking is pretty ridiculous. Although I was personally lucky enough to find a spot near the entrance almost immediately, I can't say most people experienced what I did. Lines for the shuttles were insaaaaane.Still, I think I'll be back next year... and with my own kite! I just hope I don't take anyone's eye out :p

This is one of the coolest things to do in Berkeley. The Berkeley Kite Festival in the summertime is a fun and free event at the park at Berkeley Marina. The highlight is definitely the GIANT OCTOPUS KITES. OCTOPI IN THE SKY!!! You can actually see them in the distance as you're walking closer to the park because they are so huge. They are many of them and in different colors. I was just in awe when I saw them for the first time. There are tons of other kites at the festival too - more of the regular kind that you would see at the beach or your local park. You are definitely encouraged to bring your own kite. People had set up blankets and chairs and tents and were either flying their own kites or watching other people fly their kites. It's such a lovely event and great to see people in the community - Cal students, families, everyone! - come out to have some summer fun. I usually just walk over to the Marina using the pedestrian overpass bridge that goes over 80. If you haven't been to the Kite Festival, go next summer - the octopi are totally worth it!

There's something gratifying about seeing a community getting together and celebrating something so juvenile as kite flying. From the high way you can see hundreds of kites dancing in the sky, all different shapes, sizes, colors - just from an outside perspective it's like seeing something in the movies that you'd never think you'd see in real life. Parking is atrocious! The prices may vary from $15 or so but there are shuttle buses from the marina to the fields. The delta winds made the day perfect for flying and if you're wanting to join the crowd, they have booths set up with different types of kites to buy. The food vendors were pretty sketchy and there were games for kids to play. I didn't stay as long as I wanted to but it's pretty limited to what you can do out there but if you do plan on going you may want to bring sunscreen, a blanket to sit on, and perhaps your own food since the vendors tasted like shit. I promised my dad that I'd take him next year and I'm pretty much looking forward to it.

FREE Admission to the Berkeley Kite Festival for the whole family. It's held at Cesar E. Chavez Park near the Berkeley Marina last weekend in July, both Sat & Sun. I went on the 26th Annual event Sat 7/30/11.Parking by the Marina is $10 w/ FREE shuttle pick-up, or you can park East of I-80 & walk/bike across the new bike/pedestrian bridge. Also there's FREE shuttles that pick up at North Berkeley Bart & Spenger's (West Berkeley).Got there early & there were some Octopi up. They are Giant size so very impressive. Near the end of the day they had about 17 up. Lots of people bring their own kites to fly. Get a Schedule of Events which has times & map. I didn't so just kinda wandered around. Missed out on lots of stuff - oh well.If I ever go back I'd like to see the Rokkaku Battle. They have 2 scheduled each day.The Candy Drop is for kids. They drop a bag of candy, then tell the kids to get it. Looks like fun.They had Pony Rides $6 ea & Jumpy House/Slide (cost I didn't look into).Lots of food booths - nothing cheap. Turkey leg $10 (didn't try, but looked good); Roasted corn $3 - just ok. Fried foods, Asian food, Ben&Jerry's $4 a scoop, etc.Got some Meyer's Dish Washing Soap. FREE coupon for Slurpee.Traffic is bad leaving the event. Tip: Bring your own food - make a day of it, chairs, dress in layers (cold in the morning/hot in afternoon), hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, water.Many pit toilets w/ hand washing stations outside next to them.