Kites will fly over Pasadena

Caltech students have the ME 72 Engineering Design contest, in which student teams build devices designed to outperform their rivals. Now they have the Battle of the Kites, a contest that will pit Techers against students from Art Center and Pasadena City College.

As participants will design craft that will go airborne, expect the sky above the Rose Bowl to be filled with kites. Free kites will be handed to the first 250 people to arrive, and contests will award prizes for best kite and most creative.

This kite-flying event was inspired by the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, which happens to be the city’s selection for its One City, One Story community reading project. The book follows two Afghan men who spent their childhood days telling stories and flying kites—a seemingly harmless pastime that was later forbidden during the strict Taliban regime.

The winner of the Battle of the Kites will receive a helicopter ride over the city and a cash prize of $150; the second-place winner will receive a night’s stay at an area hotel plus tickets to the Pasadena Symphony; and the third-place winner will take home a pair of tickets for grandstand seats at the 2006 Rose Parade.

The Battle of the Kites will take place on Saturday, March 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Rose Bowl in Area H. Please note that this event will be cancelled in case of rain. Contact the Pasadena Public Library at 744-4066 for details.
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