Giant, colorful kites enliven Ancol sky<\/p>\n
By Hera Diani<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Feeling worn down? Stressed out from work? Go
\nfly a kite.<\/p>\n
That was the advice of the contestants at the Jakarta
\nInternational Kite Festival, who swear by the soothing effects of
\nflying a kite.<\/p>\n
\"Watching the colorful kites up in the sky really eases my
\nmind,\" Effendi Jafri, a contestant from Riau, told The Jakarta
\nPost on Friday.<\/p>\n
If you drop by Bagus Beach in Ancol, North Jakarta, this
\nSaturday and Sunday, just glance up at the sky and you will find
\ndozens of striking kites swooping and diving and gamboling
\nmerrily in the air.<\/p>\n
The designs of the kites vary. From animals to Batman, dragons
\nand airplanes. And it was indeed peaceful to watch them at play
\nup in the sky.<\/p>\n
All of the kites were competing against each other in the
\nthree-day event that started on Friday.<\/p>\n
The festival has become an annual event in the capital, with
\nthis year marking the ninth time it has been held.<\/p>\n
One of the festival's founders, Sari Madjid from the Le Gong
\nkite association, said last year's festival brought together
\ncontestants from six foreign countries and 11 provinces from
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Now, contestants from 10 foreign countries have confirmed
\ntheir participation, while there will be 120 local contestants
\nfrom all across the country,\" she told the Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
Among the countries represented at the festival this year are
\nAustria, Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands and the
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is a very popular destination for kites flyers
\naround the world, she said.<\/p>\n
\"We have been invited to many countries all over the world,
\nlike the United States, China and France. They like us because we
\nhave a rich variety of kite designs. Each province has its own
\nunique design,\" she said.<\/p>\n
For the festival, she added, foreign flyers would only exhibit
\ntheir kites.<\/p>\n
\"The competition is only for the local contestants. The
\nwinners will get trophies and some money,\" Sari said, declining
\nto reveal the amount of prize money on offer.<\/p>\n
She said the kites would be judged on size, construction,
\ncolor and maneuverability.<\/p>\n
\"It's not based on how long a kite can remain in the sky. If a
\nkite can stay up for hours but the design is too plain, it won't
\nwin,\" Sari said.<\/p>\n
But there was no evidence of plain kites marring the sky on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Effendi brought a gigantic butterfly kite and a three-
\ndimensional airplane kite.<\/p>\n
He said it costs him over Rp 600,000 (US$54.50) to construct a
\nkite using parachute material and wood.<\/p>\n
A group of women kite flyers from West Java said they spent
\nover Rp 1.5 million making their kite.<\/p>\n
They brought an 80-meter-long dragon kite, as well as few
\nother ones.<\/p>\n
One of the women, Suyu, a retired school teacher who is in her
\n60s, said she has been flying kites since 1987.<\/p>\n
\"My late husband was a flyer also. So I followed him and
\nactually really enjoyed it. I've even traveled all over the world
\nbecause of it,\" she said, adding that she has been to Malaysia,
\nChina and the United States.<\/p>\n
Most of the contestants have taken part in several
\ninternational festivals. And according to them, they don't do it
\nfor money or trophies.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, we want to win, of course. But it is the friendship
\nthat really counts. The chance to meet new people and see dozens
\nof beautiful kites,\" Suyu said.<\/p>\n
For the participants from Brunei, the Jakarta festival is a
\nchance to promote a kite festival in their country in August.<\/p>\n
\"It's part of our Visit Brunei 2001 program. We're sort of new
\nat such festivals, but we want to show that kites are also
\npopular in our country,\" said Maidin.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/giant-colorful-kites-enliven-ancol-sky-1447893297",
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