This festival was completely up in the air — but that’s just how they like it.
Breezy Brooklynites and aerial enthusiasts from around the world blew into the People’s Playground for the annual Coney Island National Kite Festival organized by the Kites In Motion Club on Sept. 5–7.
“We were there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday flying kites,” said Walter Corsetti, who flew down from Canada to spend the weekend catching Coney Island’s breeze. “The timing was good, and we said ‘let’s go on an adventure.’ ”
The relaxed event kite fanatics to Coney Island’s storied beaches for three days of high-flying fun. Organizers invited people to fly between Stillwell Avenue and Bay 10th Street, but most of the upward action went down in the sands in front of Deno’s Wonder Wheel.
Corsetti, who presides over the Toronto Kite Flyers, said he came as a de facto emissary who broadened the event’s scope.
“I guess I made this the Coney Island — International — Kite Festival,” he said.
Fans of all things wind-powered set aloft a dizzying display of high-flying vessels, including massive parafoils as large as a car, and stirring stunt kites.
Sea breezes that wash over the People’s Playground late in the afternoon provide the best conditions, Corsetti said.
“It was up and down, but there were some steadier winds later in the day — good winds coming off the water.”
