The National Festival of Kites – Come September, Sri Lankan Skies Are Rainbow Hued

Culturally enriched by past settlers as much as by a prospering economy, boosted by local produce and tourism efforts, Sri Lanka today offers visitors international standard entertainments in addition to its own traditional national flavors, such as masked ballets, classical music and dance, boat races, coconut crafts, handloom and bright local weaves and the world-famous spices grown on its fertile soil and exported to all corners of the globe.

Its National Festival of Kites organized every year in September is one of the most happening events the country witnesses, in terms of a surge in tourism revenue as well as the colorful flights of fancy these bits of paper, imagination and decorative accents as diverse as mirrors, tassels and hand-painted motifs ranging from the religious to the eclectic.

This festival is open to both locals as well as foreigners. The vibrancy, youthful flavor and riot of colors exhibited at the National Festival of Kites in Sri Lanka enables visitors to get a unique look into the customs and tradition that the Mount Lavinia Beach a never-before energy filled atmosphere.

The National Festival of Kites is regarded as a platform for showcasing the creativity of locals. As such, it never fails to delight the large crowds that typically gather on the beach to witness the Sri Lankan skies filled with kites of various hues and materials ranging from rice-paper to colorful sarees and some even made from dried leaves!!

The Mount Lavinia Beach is otherwise too a famous tourist destination in Sri Lanka, lying 10 kilometers south of Colombo, and the annual Kite Festival presents the perfect opportunity for visitors to let their inner child free when they allow themselves to participate in this simple festive excitement, enjoying balmy sea breezes.

Last year (2008), the festival registered 180 participants comprising both adults and children, with different prizes awarded in various categories. The winner in the creative category in the National Festival of Kites, Sri Lanka took away the first prize for his unusual production and whimsical design alone: a kite comprising bird feathers and palm leaves that resembled an owl!!