BELGAUM INTERNATIONAL KITE FESTIVAL-2011

Shri.Abhay  Patil (MLA, Belgaum Dakshin). Member of Legislative Assembly Govt of Karnataka,India, Festival Organiser

An International Kite Festival will be organised for the first time in Belgaum on 16th and 17th January 2011. Various teams across the country as also those of foreigners will be participating in the two-days festival. Interestingly, Flyers will fly the Kites at night as well near Kote Kere, at Belgaum Fort, which is a first of its kind experiment in the entire country. Flying kites attached with lamps / lights during the night on 16th will be the Star Attraction of this unique festival. International Kite Festivals have been held so far in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) for some years now. But, Belgaum is going to host one such Festival for the first time. The festival will see a huge number and giant sized Kites, including Dragon Kites, Train Kites, Stunt Kites, Parafoils, Air-Inflated Kites, Eagles and Kathakali Kites. Giant Kites like Motorised and Fiberglass Kites, Traditional Paper Kites and Designer Kites, which perhaps you might not have seen before will also dot the Belgaum skies for two days, thereby creating a colourful canopy that promises an awesome spectacle for the viewers.

All of these will be flown by expert Kite Makers and Flyers from Europe and Asia during the two-days International Kite festival. Fifteen national and five international teams including those from the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil and France are supposed to take part in this event at Belgaum. Around 30 international kite-flying experts have already confirmed their participation. Some kite flyers from France and UK shall display their dexterity by flying a number of kites simultaneously with both the hands. The spectacular extravaganza also expected to be enjoyed by more than 5,000 foreign tourists from Goa & and more then 10 thousand tourists across the country .It is hoped that the festival will help to promote Belgaum as an International Tourist Destination. A number of stalls displaying the local products such as hand-loom sarees, sweet-meats, food-stuffs, processed food-products different types of Kites including designer kites will be opened around the venue to help local businessmen to market their products. We propose to take the visiting tourists and dignitaries to the nearby tourism spots so that this shall automatically culminate in a regular annual feature of Belgaum City in the years to follow. The other events at the festival are a photo exhibition on the Kites and a coaching camp for children in Kite Flying. International and national experts will teach the basics of kite flying to the participating children. Kite lovers who wish to take part in the festival along with their Kites may contact V. K. Rao at +9198440-44199 and/or Shri. Chaitanya Kulkarni, Cell : +9194801-88877