Organised by SmileFactor10, the St Anne’s International Kite Festival was held on the 4th, 5th and 6th September 2026. Unfortunately, the start of the festival was postponed until 3pm and then again to 6pm. However, the weather, in particular the wind, had the better of us. The wind was so strong that although the tide was going out, the wind was actually blowing the water up the beach which meant many of the fliers had to seek shelter. In the end, all but a couple of fliers decided it was unsafe to fly that evening.
Saturday was a whole different ball game though. Maybe one of the best days at St Annes since the festival began. All the arenas were full of colour. We were flying near one of the corners of the main inflatable arena choosing to fly our Maxi Whale along side Martin and Ann Crowther’s Maxi Sperm Whale. Both David Cross (with Frank Sidebottom et al in tow) and Will & Becky Staniaszek (with the AKF Maxi Octopus) made for us all having a great day’s flying. The art arena, especially with deltas and tails, as well as some unique creations, looked spectacular.
Sunday was a bit windier so we flew our Maxi Manta off the bridles. I was later advised by Sarah that I’d chosen the wrong sized Manta đŸ™‚ Part way through the afternoon we offered our line so that Kisa Sauer could fly her inflatable Asteroid. Wow what a fantastic kite. Hand made and spray painted by Kisa. It made our weekend to help her fly it especially given how thrilled she was in getting it up flying
So after everybody’s disappointment of not having a Friday night fly, Saturday and Sunday more than made up for it with another successful weekend. Again many thanks to Craig and Sue plus the rest of the team for all their efforts that made the festival such a great success.
