Cape Town witnessed a colourful sky on Oct. 27 with the 30th annual Cape Town International Kite Festival. Brought to life by the non-profit organization Cape Mental Health, the festival attracts both local and international participants — varying from professionals to casual kite fliers — to help bring awareness during South Africa’s Mental Health Month.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Melkbosstrand Beach was filled with kites ranging from dragons to jellyfish. The festival also hosted EduKite, a kite-crafting contest for students in primary schools and special needs education schools, with monetary prizes as rewards. The main goal of the event was to promote community building and raise money to finance mental healthcare services for those who need it most.
The motto for the festival is #HopeOnAString. “The significance of our motto is [that] a string looks insignificant and tiny, but you need to hold on because if you let go, the colourful kite will disappear. But while you hold on, you have hope that that kite will fly and colour the sky,” shared Santie Terreblanche, Cape Mental Health’s deputy executive officer. Organizer Barbara Meyer said, “No matter how fragile the string seems, a person can use it to hold a kite as large as a house.”
