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Annual Dumfries Kitefest set to fly over Cambridge this weekend

High flying family spectacle returns to Dumfries Conservation Area this Sunday
Alex Hunt

This Sunday will mark the 26th year that Dumfries Kitefest has been bringing local families together and past president Carlos Simoes continues to up that tradition. 

“This is for basically for people to be aware about this gem in the middle of Cambridge and awareness for families that this is here to use,” said Simoes about the host site for Kitefest, the Dumfries Conservation Area on Dunbar Road. “I enjoy seeing families getting out of the house away from all their devices and enjoying the park that’s really what this is all about.” 

The event is free and Simoes encourages anyone can bring a kite and fly while also providing people the option to watch the 30 to 40 professional kite flyers that will be in attendance. 

The professional kite flyers range from all over Ontario with a few attending from the U.S. 

The event will run from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. June 11. 

Some of the inflatable kites reach to up 70- feet in length. 

“What’s really big now with the kite shows are the inflatables. We call it the Aquarium of the Sky,” said Simoes. “We can have all kinds of kite fish that you can think of that fly up there and that’s what people really enjoying seeing.” 

The event will feature a new workshop this year with staff coming from the Bell Homestead National Historic Site in Brantford to provide a demonstration of one of the kites invented by Alexander Graham Bell over 100 years ago. A display of aviation will be part of it as well. 

Simoes said the event is full of community spirit that transcends the generations and that's what keeps drawing kite enthusiasts and spectators back every year.

He was approached by one mom last year who thanked him for organizing the event, saying that her parents used to bring her to fly the kites and now she brings her own children to festival. 

“That just tells the story that this festival is something that keeps going down the families.” 

Simoes said that up to a thousand people will turn up for the festival with numbers reaching the higher side if it’s a nice day. 

“Hopefully we can just keep sustaining it and bringing it back every year and build upon it,” Simoes said. “It’s all based on how many people we can get to volunteer and help us but for now, we are really happy.”