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Dragons and dreams soar at Cape Town International Kite Festival

Fuad Esack|Updated

The partly cloudy, blue skies made the perfect backdrop for this year’s kite displays, at the weekend's Cape Town International Kite Festival, at Youngsfield Military Base.

Image: Fuad Esack

The annual Cape Town International Kite Festival brought colour and joy to the skies over Youngsfield Military Base, in Wynberg, over the weekend. The two-day festival, hosted by Cape Mental Health, saw families and kite enthusiasts enjoying surprisingly mild weather, considering that barely a week prior, severe winds caused another major event to be called off in the CBD.

The weekend's kite festival featured a dazzling display of locally made and international kites, from tiny hand-held designs to giant showpieces that filled the air with shapes and patterns. Visitors enjoyed live entertainment and plenty of open space to fly their own kites under clear blue skies.

This once again lifted spirits and helped to create awareness about mental health.

A sea of colours waved across the skies above Youngsfield Military Base, during the weekend's Cape Town International Kite Festival.

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Local and international kite enthusiasts showed off their skills at the weekend's kite festival, in Wynberg.

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Space to run around and fly their kites was certainly not an issue for youngsters at the weekend's kite festival.

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The weekend's annual kite festival attracted professional flyers and those just starting out.

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A dragon takes flight over Wynberg, at the weekend's Cape Town International Kite Festival, held at Youngsfield Military Base— breathing colour, not fire.

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Besides lighting up the skies, the annual kite festival and related events leading up to the weekend's showcase, also aims to promote mental health awareness — lifting spirits while spreading a message of hope.

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Even sea creatures flew at the Cape Town International Kite Festival.

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A mystery bird brightens the gray skies above Youngsfield, adding a splash of colour to the festivities, at the military base

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A rather majestic-looking "eagles" surveys his kingdom below, during the weekend's kite festival, at Youngsfield.

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Spoken word artist and mental health activist, Skylar Darrigan, from Kylemore, bringing her brand of poetry to the weekend's festivities.

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The weekend's kite festival at Youngsfield Military Base proved to be an ideal family affair.

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A cavalry of kites takes to the skies above Youngsfield Military Base, during the weekend's Cape Town International Kite Festival

Image: Fuad Esack