Hayden Kite Festival returns Saturday at Broadmoore Park, free for families

Families looking for a no-cost Saturday outing in Hayden will find one at Broadmoore Park, where the Hayden Kite Festival is set for noon to 2:30 p.m. on May 9. Registration will run from noon to 1:30 p.m., kite flying will continue through 2 p.m., and awards are scheduled for 2:15 p.m.

The city says the festival is free and open to all ages, with kites on hand for anyone who does not own one. Organizers are also encouraging people to bring a picnic lunch and spend the afternoon with family and neighbors, giving the event the feel of a neighborhood gathering rather than a formal festival. The City of Hayden and ICCU are presenting the event, and residents can call 208-209-1080 for more information.

Awards will include Best in Show, High Flyer, Best Homemade, Best Flyer and Crash & Burn, giving both polished kites and spectacular wipeouts a place in the competition. Broadmoore Park, at 2691 West Broadmoore Drive, sits in the Broadmoore Estates neighborhood north of Atlas Elementary and is accessible from Atlas Road, making the festival easy to reach for families across Hayden and the surrounding Kootenai County area.

The kite festival has become part of Hayden’s regular recreation calendar alongside Hayden Days, summer concerts, movie nights and holiday ceremonies. That matters in a city where small, recurring events often do the work of building community one Saturday at a time. They give newcomers a simple way to join in, keep park spaces active and create free outings at a time when family entertainment can quickly get expensive.

The festival also has staying power. The city has hosted kite festivals for about 14 years, and recent turnouts have shown how well the event fits Hayden’s spring calendar. In 2023, the festival drew more than 70 entrants and about 200 attendees. In 2025, about 100 people came out to fly kites and another 275 watched, making it one of the largest turnouts to date. City leaders credited ICCU sponsorship and volunteers from the Hayden Parks, Recreation and Community Forestry Commission for that success, and the same partnership is bringing the event back this year.