The arts and culture group Clockshop, in partnership with California State Parks, invited the public to the 4th Annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival on Saturday, May 11 under a blue sky at the Los Angeles State Historic Park near Dodger Stadium and historic Chinatown. The wind was almost non-existent but an occasional light breeze teased the children, teens and adults who managed to get their kites soaring high.
Among the scores of kites were three designed by a commissioned artist, Yaeun Stevie Choi, whose unique Korean kites focused on animal species native to Los Angeles that are threatened by urban and industrial development — including the El Segundo butterfly, the Least Bell’s vireo who winter in Baja California and return to California each spring, and North American cougars also known as mountain lions. According to the National Park Service, L.A. is one of only two megacities in the world, including Mumbai, India, “that have big cats living within the city limits.”
A big crowd of children and adults brought kites ranging from home-made to glitzy, to celebrate the 4th Annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2024 under a blue sky at the Los Angeles State Historic Park near Dodger Stadium and historic Chinatown. (Photo by Monica Orozco)
A big crowd of children and adults brought kites ranging from home-made to glitzy, to celebrate the 4th Annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2024 under a blue sky at the Los Angeles State Historic Park near Dodger Stadium and historic Chinatown. (Photo by Monica Orozco)
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A big crowd of children and adults brought kites ranging from home-made to glitzy, to celebrate the 4th Annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2024 under a blue sky at the Los Angeles State Historic Park near Dodger Stadium and historic Chinatown. (Photo by Monica Orozco)
A big crowd of children and adults brought kites ranging from home-made to glitzy, to celebrate the 4th Annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2024 under a blue sky at the Los Angeles State Historic Park near Dodger Stadium and historic Chinatown. (Photo by Monica Orozco)
A big crowd of children and adults brought kites ranging from home-made to glitzy, to celebrate the 4th Annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2024 under a blue sky at the Los Angeles State Historic Park near Dodger Stadium and historic Chinatown. (Photo by Monica Orozco)
A big crowd of children and adults brought kites ranging from home-made to glitzy, to celebrate the 4th Annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2024 under a blue sky at the Los Angeles State Historic Park near Dodger Stadium and historic Chinatown. (Photo by Monica Orozco)
A big crowd of children and adults brought kites ranging from home-made to glitzy, to celebrate the 4th Annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2024 under a blue sky at the Los Angeles State Historic Park near Dodger Stadium and historic Chinatown. (Photo by Monica Orozco)
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There was artistry on some kites, and political messaging on other kites, and children, families and organized groups put their kites high into the sky.
One kite, held by small girl, urged the public to “Fly Kites Not Gondolas” — a reference to a proposal to build a gondola ride between Dodger Stadium and Union Station that would take tourists and Dodger fans to the ballpark. But a growing number of opponents, including the Los Angeles Parks Alliance, note that the gondolas would pass 40 feet over homes and 26 feet over the L.A. State Historic Park.
Clockshop describes itself as an arts and culture organization that works for social change by transforming public space in areas including the Bowtie area along the Los Angeles River. This year’s festival celebrated multicultural kite traditions and “bringing together diverse communities in Los Angeles through the art of kites and a day of joyful connection in this important public green space,” organizers said in a prepared statement.
