Spectators, avid kite flyers, and novices of all ages are invited to the 4th Annual Atlantic Coast Kite Festival the weekend of May 2-4, 2008 at the Virginia Beach oceanfront and in Portsmouth, Virginia at the Courthouse Galleries and Portsmouth City Park!On Friday night, the Courthouse Galleries will host the "Kite Night Open House" celebrating the exhibit "Kites: A Tradition for All Ages," to be shown from April 18-July 6. The exhibit presents kites representative of traditions in Japan as well as kites made by contemporary artists and kite makers from around the world!On Saturday, the action shifts to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront at 17th Street a full day of activities that include:

• Workshops for ages 6-14 on kite building and kite flying led by Archie Stewart, of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Stewart, utilizing hands-on, interactive teaching, combines both the academics and pleasures of kiting. He encourages students to “teambuild” as they work together to create their own kites. Archie Stewart is a member of the American Kitefliers Association (AKA) and, as a sport kite competitor, won the ’99-’00 Eastern League Championship in individual precision flight and pairs ballet. His workshops will be open to a limited number of students.
• Kite demonstrations and activities, including demonstrations in dual line ballet and precision, multi-line ballet and precision, multiple kite flying by one person, and stacked kite flying, will be held throughout the day.
• Kite vendors with an assortment of kites and equipment for sale.
• An open-fly area on the beach where participants of all ages may fly their kites.On Sunday, Portsmouth City Park becomes the venue for the kite festival as kite fliers are invited to participate in workshops, view demonstrations, and learn techniques for flying kites of all shapes and sizes.

The Atlantic Coast Kite Festival is free and open to the public. There is a nominal charge for participating in the kite building workshop.The Atlantic Coast Kite Festival is a sanctioned event of the American Kitefliers Association.