This weekend we will welcome hundreds of families to our area for NIU Family Weekend and the 12th annual DeKalb Kite Fest. There are many activities that will take place on and off campus to showcase DeKalb County attractions, highlighted by NIU’s 2:30 p.m. Saturday football game against Eastern Illinois at Huskie Stadium.
DeKalb Kite Fest follows on Sunday with thousands of visitors and residents gathering to look upward and celebrate the thrill of seeing kites of all shapes, sizes and colors fill our skies.
The DeKalb County Convention & Visitors Bureau is proud to continue to host this fall tradition. Kite Fest is made possible by our sponsors, volunteers, and the amazing kite pilots that Dave Zavel, from Chicago Grab your blankets, lawn chairs, families, friends and kick back with us for Kite Fest from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 10. It will be held on the NIU campus “North 40”, which is at the corner of Lucinda Avenue and Kishwaukee Drive. There is a $3 fee per carload to park to offset the cost of renting the parking lots at NIU. That’s a small price to pay for a beautiful day spent outdoors with family and friends enjoying all the entertainment.
Kite Fest takes us all back to a simpler time, however many of these kites aren’t simple to fly. It takes work and talent to fly a kite that is over 100 feet in length. There will be dancing kites, stunt kites, parrot kites, kitten kites, octopus kites and much more to enjoy.
The kids will be able to make kites for free with the help of our volunteers and Art Attack. There will be other fun activities for them to do at non-profit and sponsor booths throughout the day.
The much-anticipated candy drop is always a hit with the kids. We can’t predict the time of the drop. Mother nature determines that, depending on the wind that day. We normally try to do the candy drop after 1 p.m. Spend some time at Kite Fest and try not to miss out on any of the fun.
Bring your own picnic baskets or purchase food or treats from one of our two vendors, Sweet Dream Desserts and Cream King.
We encourage everyone to take pictures and videos and tag them #DeKalbKiteFest and post on our Kite Fest Facebook page. We want to connect with everyone to share this family-friendly event.
