Since 1967, there has been a kite festival in Washington, DC. The festival was started by Paul E, Garber, the first head of the National Air Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, a man who spent his life helping to preserve world aviation heritage. Garber’s powers of persuasion were legendary–the festival’s location on the grounds of the Washington Monument became possible only because he convinced the DC Government to abolish its law against kite flying on the Monument’s grounds.
2015 Kite Festival
In 2011, the Smithsonian turned over the responsibility for running the festival to the National Cherry Blossom Festival organizers and it was renamed the Blossom Kite Festival.
2007 Kite Festival
photographybykent 
Robin – You are dedicated to have attended the kite festival in this frigid weather! But obviously it was worth it – I love that shot of the pink kites!
Joan
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Hi, Joan: Thanks for the comments. Yes, it was pretty brutal out there, but they needed that wind to keep the kites up. I had to admire the participants who did show up. It also gave me chance to check the status of the cherry blossoms. The forecast for peak at 11-14 April still looks about right. But the tulip trees will be out before that. Needless to say, I didn’t stay down there too long.
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lovely love them!
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Thanks very much. I’m glad you liked them.
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So beautiful they look in the air carefree, seeing those kites fly must have be so cool.
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Thanks very much. “Cool” is an interesting choice of words in this case. The temperature this time was below freezing and with the wind, which was necessary for good kiting, was strong. So it was very cold as well;-) Thanks for visiting. I’m glad you liked the photos.
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You are welcome Robin. I can only imagine the chill the wind had, perfect day for a warm cocoa 🙂
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Wow – love the pink!
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Thanks for visiting and for commenting. The pink kites are the new logo for the festival and they look great against a deep blue sky like we had today.
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They sure do!
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What a lovely festival it must be – especially tying in the two – kites and cherry blossoms. Fabulous shots!
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Thanks so much. Yes, it’s a special time of year for this area.
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I was too much of a cold-weather wimp to attend the kite festival so it’s great to see your beautiful photo! Love the pink kites ~ so pretty.
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Thanks very much. You may have been wise not to come. It was really cold. But it sounds like this coming week will be a little better.
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Set against the blue sky, the string of kites has such an abstract beauty about it! How nice that the cherry blossoms are just around the corner. Here in the high desert of Nevada, where we’ve been visiting, the season has just passed.
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Thanks for visiting and for your comments, Tricia. Yes it won’t be long before they are out. I did a quick drive through DC today and people are already strolling along the tidal basin even though the blossoms have at least another week to go.
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Lovely shots of bright kites and its a really interesting history about the festival. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Thanks, Faqeeha, and thanks for visiting. Good to hear from you.
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