If you’re looking for some fresh air and spectacle this weekend, you could do a lot worse than hop onto a ferry to Fuerteventura for the island’s 33rd annual kite festival, which will take place from Friday to Sunday.
The kite festival is one of the few public events that is still going ahead this year, possibly because those nasty Covid-19 viruses don’t last long in the wind and sand of Corralejo’s dunes. Although the festival will be reduced, organisers have chosen to let it go ahead as it is such an important trradition for Fuerteventura.
Lockdowns, curfews and quarantine regulations mean that only 50 kite enthusiasts will be taking part in the event this year, instead of the usual 200. The participants will include French, Italian, German and Spanish kite fans.
The event is one of Fuerteventura’s most popular spectacles, and last year Hollywood megastar Angelina Jolie, who was filming forthcoming superhero film The Eternals on the island, turned up at the sand dunes with a clutch of her children to see the kites.
The Ayuntamiento of La Oliva’s Tourism Councillor, Celino Umpiérrez, said “This is one of the best promotional vehicles for our island, and that’s why we didn’t want to cancel it. Instead, we’ve reduced participation and cancelled smaller side events.”
Festival organiser Jacinto Rodríguez said “Sadly we’ve had to call off events such as the kids’ kite-making workshop, but the important thing is that the festival goes ahead.”
Displays are scheduled from 10 am to 5.30 pm on Friday 6th, Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th November, and visitors of a prudish disposition should be warned that this is a naturist beach, which means that some participants may be displaying more than just their kites.
The festival takes place in the beaches a few kilometres south of Corralejo and isn’t hard to find – let the kites guide you. If you take a car over or hire one, take care not to park in the sand – scores of cars need to be towed out every year. A taxi may be a better bet.
