Kite festival Gerstetten
Kite flying is something between a childhood outdoor activity and an international sport. While even younger children have fun with simple kites, teams of six or more perform complex maneuvers with their stunt kites.
From spring to fall, there are kite festivals all over the country, most of which are designed for families. An overview of these events, mainly in Germany, can be found hier [↗]. I stumbled across one of the largest festivals in southern Germany quite by chance: the Gerstetten Kite Festival has been running since 1996 and is organized by the Albflyer Team [↗]. This year marked its 28th edition.
It was a beautiful, sunny day, so quite a lot of people had made their way there. The temporary parking lots were well filled, but people spread out across the spacious grounds, so it wasn't crowded. All in all, the atmosphere was very relaxed.
In addition to stunt kite teams, the event featured a mass launch of bat kites and a Rokkaku competition, in which other people's kites must be forced to the ground. The excellent presenters eagerly explained the context, so that even those who had little experience with kite flying could understand what they were seeing.
I concentrated mainly on the kites and didn't try so much to portray the festival and its participants. So I was less interested in taking artistically valuable pictures that would make it into a year-end review, and more in enjoying photography on a beautiful afternoon.
If you're now interested in taking part, the Albflyer Team [↗] is organizing the 24th Family Kite Festival in Laichingen, west of Ulm, on October 4/5, 2025.
