Can’t-Miss Winter Kite Festivals

Winter is coming, and if you’re looking for an all-round cool to bone-chilling good time with family and friends, these mesmerizing kite festivals are an absolute must. Subscribe for some awe-inspiring lookbacks and much more!  

Flying in these or any other kite festivals? Read The Unwritten Rules of Festival Flying. Want to get started flying showkites? Read Take a Flying Leap!, Showkiter to Gear Hound: Here are the Essentials, and More, How Much Did You Pay for that Kite?, Fly These Kites by Hand and You’ll be Gone in a Second, So Much More than Kites, ‘Kite for Sale… Hardly Ever Flown’, and What kind of Yahoo Flies Kites in the Middle of Winter?

2026 Winter Kite festivals:

Kites Over Awesome Lake Antoine (K.O.A.L.A.), Sat., Jan. 11, 2026, 11AM – 3PM, N3393 Quinnesec, Lake Antoine Rd., Iron Mountain, Michigan  

Okoboji Winter Game Kite Festival, Thurs., Jan. 22 – Sun., Jan. 25, 2026, All Day, 300 Lake Street, Arnolds Park, IA 53515 

Back by popular demand, after one-year hiatus, the main event is Sat. followed by the burning of the greens. But kiters from across the country and around the Globe will be flying all four days. See WTF is #Bojikites for more info.

Color the Wind Kite Festival, Sat., Feb. 21, 2026, 11AM – 4PM, N LakeView Dr, Clear Lake, IA 50428 

Kites On Ice Festival, Sat., Feb. 14, 2026,11AM – 3PM, Buffalo Lake and Sturges Park, 505 2nd Ave S, Buffalo, MN 55313 

Cool Kites on the Ice, Sun., Feb. 15, 2026, 10:00AM – Sundown, On Little Detroit Lake, 199 W Lake Dr, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501