800,000 People Love Kites, Evidently

There's something about kites. They reconnect us to wonder, to our childhood memories of incandescent awe. They teach us that wind is not a constant, but rather a series of pockets, ebbs and flows, all but invisible to us in its many gradations through the sky. Kites transport us. Perhaps Dick Van Dyke said it best, in Mary Poppins, when his colorful Burt sang: "When you send it flying up there/ All at once you're lighter than air."

In Italy, people get kites. In fact, the longest-running international kite festival in the world just wrapped up on an idyllic Italian beach town facing the Adriatic Sea, and the weather was perfect for kite-flying: sunny, and perfectly windy.

It was the 45th edition of the Artevento Cervia (or “art event” Cervia, named after the town where it takes place), and over 800,000 attendees came out over 15 festival days to celebrate all things kite. The festival featured more than 250 official guest artists (aka impressive fliers with elaborately complicated kites) from 50 countries and over 2,000 of what festival organizers called “spontaneous kite fliers.”

If you’re interested in attending the festival in the future, it does have a short autumn spin-off called One Sky One World, which will run from October 3-5 this autumn. Next year’s Artevento Cervia is scheduled for April 23 to May 3. Check the official website for more information.

Senior writer Chris DeWeese edits Morning Brief, The Weather Channel’s newsletter.