Bali Kite Festival 2022, Indonesian Sky Celebrates its True Colours in Style! ~ All About Indonesia

Bali Kite Festival 2022, Indonesian Sky Celebrates its True Colours in Style!

What to Expect From the Bali Kite Festival?

2022 Dates: August

The opening ceremony of the kite festival takes place in July, and the closing ceremony takes place in October. There are several small scale competitions and side events that take place during the festive period, but most of the major events are conducted in the opening and closing months of the festival. Throughout the whole festival, a gamelan orchestra would play the traditional music of Bali.

During these months, the wind blowing from the ocean creates the perfect weather conditions for the kite lovers to fly their kites. As the events heavily depend on the weather conditions, visitors are recommended to check the exact dates of the event. They should check out the official website of the local authorities for the precise location and correct timings.

Bali Kite Festival Venue

This festival is hosted across several locations on the island of Bali. The opening and closing events take place on Padanggalak Beach, which is on the northern side of Sanur. Other locations of the festival would include Masceti Beach which is on the Gianyar town; Ungasan; Mertasari Beach, Sanur; Abiansemal, Badung; Klungklung, Pelangi; Ungasan, Bukit Peninsula; Peliatan, Ubud; Marga, Tabanan; Denpasar and Kuta.

What Happens at The Kite Festival

Presently, the festival welcomes teams from domestic and foreign origins to come and participate. Each team would consist of 70 to 80 members. The major task of the troupe would be to assemble their kite during the final event and successfully launching it along with its colourful tail. The teams would include flag bearers and flyers, and the gamelan orchestra band for encouraging their kite flyers. These teams would compete with each other for the first prize that has a large amount of monetary award.

Balinese Traditions around Bali Kite Festival

The colour combination of the traditional kite would generally consist of white, red, and black along with yellow. Every aspect has a symbolic significance attached to the Balinese Hindu Trinity, which consists of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The colour red stands for Brahma(the creator of the universe); white signifies Vishnu (the protector) and black stands for Shiva (the destroyer). The colour yellow is added to appreciate the Dewata Nawa Sanga (eight gods representing eight directions)

Tips for Visitors

July and August are the peak season on the island of Bali, and thus, the number of tourists would be very high. Here are some tips and advice that might help you in enhancing your kite festival experience.

Find suitable means of Transport: Due to the peak season, the traveller might face heavy traffic on the road. Even the prices of local transportation might be higher.
Book in Advance: It is recommended to reserve accommodation in advance as they might not be able to book hotel rooms when they reach the location of the festival.
Carry ID cards: The visitors should be careful regarding their surroundings. Always carry identification and the contact information of the hotel where you are staying presently. In any case of any trouble, the staff of the hotel would help you in resolving these matters.
Learn Basic Balinese language: The tourists should learn the basic greetings in the native language of the island. Learning these basic greeting would help in local interaction. You could also get information regarding hidden places on the island that are only known to locals of the island.
Pack light: As Bali is a tropical island, humidity levels would be very high. Thus, visitors are recommended to pack light cotton clothes, or you could buy them from the local market.

If you love to fly kites, then go ahead and participate in the event, too. During this festival, the tourists also get to experience the warm hospitality from the natives of the island. You can also participate in the kite building process. So, if you want to enjoy the thrill of flying kites and compete with random strangers, then do visit the Bali Kite festival.

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