Letter: Kite Festival says farewell

This should be the weekend of the Southern Oregon Kite Festival. Unfortunately, it is not and never will be again. The SOKF was a huge benefit to the Brookings-Harbor area, bringing visitors from over the West.

COVID-19 cancelled the 2020 and 2021 festivals and the Port of Brookings-Harbor informed us, last year, to not plan on using the Kite Field after 2021. A few years ago, when the port considered exorbitant rental fees for the Kite Field, the SOKF Committee searched, unsuccessfully, for another local site. We searched again after the port’s declaration and still found nothing suitable. With no location for a Kite Festival, the committee decided to dissolve the SOKF.

We invested much hard work over the last decade to produce this all-volunteer festival, and we would like to thank the numerous people who have shared that task with us as committee members. Even more than them, we wish to thank the hundreds of other volunteers who helped us produce this festival, unique because of its tiny field and enthusiastic audience, both of which made it a festival to which kite fliers begged and wheedled to be invited.

We will never forget the fact that it was the entire Brookings-Harbor area and its businesses which made this festival possible in 1993. Without continuing support from sponsors who donated cash or merchandise, this festival would never have been or continued for 27 years. Special thanks should be given to Grocery Outlet which never failed to support the SOKF, Oceanside Diner which fed the fliers free breakfasts during festival weekend, and Wild River Pizza which always threw a farewell party for the fliers.

There is a possibility that the Southern Oregon Kite Festival will morph into another unique kite festival in Crescent City, so keep your eyes on the sky.

Marihelen and Michael Pitts-Campbell

Brookings