CERVIA, ITALY
The 2013 Cervia International Kite Festival marked the 33rd year of this highly regarded event. Organized by artist Claudio Capelli and his daughter Caterina, the Cervia event is unique in its focus on artist-made kites. While there are plenty of crowd-pleasing inflatable kites and colorful stacks of sport kites, Claudio and Caterina have created an event that is particularly biased towards the unusual creations of a small but dedicated international population of artists who use kites as their medium. There are larger kite festivals in the world, but for those in the know, Cervia’s combination of exotic kites, wind, sun, expansive beach, food and wine is hard to top.
Asked why they have continued the event for so many years, Claudio responds:
“We make people truly happy. And that makes us happy. People come here and they feel free as the breeze. They love to come. They come year after year. It’s a way of introducing people from various cultures of the world to each other. For many people, it’s a festival, yes, but more than that, it’s now a pilgrimage.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CERVIA INTERNATIONAL KITE FESTIVAL:
More on the Capellis and the history of the event (Italian): Click Here
Aerial Kite photos by Gerhard and Daniela (Austria)
Article by Ben Ruhe from The Drachen Foundation Kite Journal