Los Alamos Arts Council prepares 30th annual Kite Festival at Overlook Park

Kite flyers from across the Southwest are set to fill the sky over Overlook Park in White Rock when the Los Alamos Arts Council stages its 30th annual Kite Festival, a milestone event that has grown into the largest of its kind in Northern New Mexico. The festival, which started in 1996, has become one of Los Alamos County’s most reliable spring gatherings because it combines a broad public venue, hands-on activities and a steady flow of families, hobbyists and returning regulars.

The two-day schedule is built for participation, not just watching. On Saturday, April 25, kite-building workshops with volunteers run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., kite flying runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., kite hospitals are open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and self-guided building workshops run from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. On Sunday, April 26, kite building continues from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Arts Council says kite-medics staff the kite hospital with sticks, duct tape and ingenuity to get damaged kites back in the air.

The festival’s reach extends beyond White Rock’s open fields. The Arts Council says the event returns to the community with elementary school workshops, community events and lectures in partnership with the Los Alamos Library and Los Alamos STEAM Lab. The American Kitefliers Association says free children’s kite-building workshops are offered on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and that participants travel from across the Southwest to fly large, intricately shaped kites and stunt kites. That mix of public programming and regional draw helps explain why the festival has endured for three decades.

The 2026 celebration also comes with strong institutional backing. Century Bank Los Alamos is serving as title sponsor, adding to a list of local supporters that has included Enterprise Bank & Trust, Los Alamos MainStreet and Creative District. A large crowd gathered for the 29th annual festival at Overlook Park in 2025, and the 30th year is poised to bring another wave of visitors to White Rock, where the festival now serves as both an arts event and a dependable spring anchor for the county’s community calendar.