MINERAL WELLS -Local residents will be able to "go fly a kite" during the third annual New Era Kite Festival Saturday at Mineral Wells Elementary School.
The free event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature kites, food, music and other attractions, said organizer Max Barker, president of the New Era Kite Club. In the event of rain, the festival will be moved to Sunday.
Barker described the event as the largest kite festival in West Virginia. He has attended kite-related events in Wellsburg and Canaan Valley but said he believes general attendance during the first two years of the Mineral Wells event has been higher.
A new addition to this year's event will be large pinwheels standing 15 feet tall. Free kites will be given to the first 50 children. There will also be music, inflatables, face painting, games and a bubble machine. A kite safety class and kite displays will also be featured during the festival.
"The New Era Kite Fest is a great way to spend the afternoon," he said. "There will be a kite flyer on hand to help you begin flying. There will also be stunt kite demonstrations and certificates awarded in a variety of kite flying categories for those who choose to participate."
Barker is also president of the New Era One Room School Museum on the Mineral Wells Elementary campus. He said the first kite festival three years ago grew out of that program and organizers had so much fun with that, it has been growing each year since.
Proceeds from the kite festival benefit the school museum program, he said.
More information is available on Facebook at New Era Kite Club & New Era One Room School Museum or on the group's website at www.neweraoneroomschoolmuseum.com.
