International Kite Festival

Why is in news? International Kite Festival 2023 to begin in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Jan 8.

The festival is being organized by Gujarat Tourism on the G20 theme of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future’.

Apart from Ahmedabad, the International Kite festival will also be organized in Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Dwarka, Somnath, Dhordo, and Kevadia.

After a gap of 2 years, skies over the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad will be adorned with colorful unique Kites.

More than 800 kite flyers from across India and the world will participate and display their unique creations in this Festival.

This year, kite enthusiasts from different countries will fly Kites at the same time attempting to create a Guinness World Record for the maximum number of kite flyers.

Usually, the festival takes place on 14 January of each year during the Makar Sankranti and continues until 15 January. This date marks the end of winter and the return of more clement weather for farmers of the Gujarat region.

The festival will promote India's G-20 presidency. A special Parade by international and national kite flyers, a theme pavilion displaying the history of kites, and workshops on making and flying kites are among the major attractions of the festival this year.

Every year, Gujarat celebrates more than 200 festivals. The International Kite Festival (Uttarayan) is one of the biggest festivals celebrated. Months beforehand, homes in Gujarat begin to manufacture kites for the festival.

The festival of Uttarayan marks the day when winter begins to turn into summer, according to the Indian calendar. It is the sign for farmers that the sun is back and that harvest season, Makara Sankranti/Mahasankranti, is approaching.

This is considered one of the most important harvest days in India as it also marks the end of winter and the beginning of the harvest season. Many cities in Gujarat organize kite competitions among their citizens.

There is a Kite Museum located at Sanskar Kendra in Paldi area of Ahmedabad. Established in 1985, it contains a collection of unique kites.

However, many visitors come from around the world, from countries including Japan, Italy, UK, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, the US, Malaysia, Singapore, France, and China to take part in the celebration.