Luneta kite festival a big hit

Eagles flew low, planes and some birds crashed to the ground, and all sorts of creatures dotted the sunny sky of Rizal Park the whole day yesterday.

But it was no scene from the Apocalypse, rather the annual kitefest in Manila’s storied park that reminded us of our childhood, when we first discovered the world’s breadth and believed that something made by our hands could fly.

Sponsored by milk giant Bear Brand, the kitefest lured 305 entries from the common "flat" design to the larger and more complicated "geometric" and "figure" designs.

And as expected, most of the contestants were children themselves eager to tug on the nylon strings and backpedal all the way to the fence just to keep their kites in the air. All the while their parents were just an earshot away shouting instructions and motivation.

"We wanted to foster family values and bring out the creativity in Filipinos, and we believe this is the best way to promote these," said Nestle Bear Brand official Gilbert Joven, who personally opened the competition.

Among those who attended the occasion were Senators Robert Jaworski and Ramon Magsaysay and other Bear Brand officials. But they all barely managed to keep their kites up for the ceremonial launch.

The competition, now on its 13th year, was staged on Mother’s Day to provide entertainment to Filipino families marking the event, Joven said.

From above-ordinary colorful kites to unbelievable designs like jeepneys, mini galleon ships, and chariots (yes, complete with a horse), a total of 305 kite flyers joined the competition, 170 of them in the elementary division or contestants aged six to 12 years.

The judging system had two criteria — design and flight.

Those with simple symmetrical designs are guaranteed to fly, but the suspenseful question that highlighted the entire event is that, will those elaborately designed kites fly, too?

With kites children have long discovered that planes alone do not rule the sky, though the principles of aviation are the same. It’s the kiteflyers who know when to yield to the wind and when to pull against it — the secret being sensitivity to Mother Nature and so strike a balance between its whims and ours.