Washington international kite fest celebrates year 45 in Long Beach
Published 4:00 am Friday, August 21, 2026
The wind was low on the fourth day of the Washington State International Kite Festival, but spirits were soaring high. “The wind wasn’t very good today,” said Eddie Haynes. “Today a lot of stuff didn’t fly very well and spent more time on the ground than in the air.”
On Thursday, Aug. 20, Haynes was there with his wife and daughter in front of the Bolstad Beach approach in Long Beach, Wash. along with thousands of others to experience the iconic week-long festival that runs Aug. 17 through Aug. 23. The festival features vendor booths, historical kites, battles kites, kids’ programs, nighttime and indoor flying events and more. The event — celebrating its 45th year — is hosted by the World Kite Museum in Long Beach. The event culminates on Sunday with a ceremony honoring kite fliers who have passed away during the year. Professional fliers and families will send their names aloft on specialized kites — an homage and a signal to begin planning for next year’s fest.
The Haynes family from Roy, Wash.— known as Team Tethered Imagination — specializes in big show kites. They have become festival-famous for a stacked kite, which is two or more kites flown together on a single set of flying lines — theirs, a nod to the Seattle Krakens. On Thursday, more big kites, such as their 65-foot gray whale kites, were grounded due to lack of wind.
But when the wind dies down it’s time to talk about kites. “We love talking to people all day long about kites,” said Eddie Haynes. “Allll day long,” his daughter, Lena Flanagan, said, laughing.
Eddie Haynes, who is 55, is tethered to the festival through decades of memories. “I have T-shirts from the kite fest dated back to 1998,” he said. ”One of my earliest memories as a kid was wanting to fly a kite and my mom went to this luncheon when I was 4 or 5 years old and I begged her to buy me a kite after and we went and flew it together in the park. Since then, I don’t know if you’d call it a hobby. … It’s more like an obsession.”
His wife, Tigger Haynes, a teacher of 25 years, works in elementary education at Roosevelt Elementary School in Tacoma. When she and Eddie married 17 years ago, she adopted her husband’s passion for kites. “I got into kites because of him,” Tigger Haynes said. “We really got into the big kites after we got married.”
Thursday was “sea creature day” and a competition was held. Tigger Haynes placed third for her tropical fish ground display. The category features wind-powered, inflatable shapes that are staked or tethered directly into the ground instead of flown into the air.
The family said they usually come for a week but this year due to a scheduling conflict they had just arrived Thursday mornin. They quickly set up their colorful display around their pick up, lawn chairs and other accoutrement to make their stay comfortable.
Daughter Lena Flanagan is a music teacher at Tacoma Elementary, less than a mile away from the school where her mom teaches. She was there on the beach to assist her parents with taking down their elaborate display at the end of the day.
“She’s a big help as we get older,” said Eddie Haynes.
Flanagan seemed happy to join her parents in what has become a yearly pilgrimage from the city to the beach to share a collective enthusiasm for kites with everyone who strolls by their colorful beach display, whether up high or on the ground.