Flyin’ very high with Sculptures in the Sky
I think I can count on one hand how many times I’ve flown a kite. People, myself included, assume the activity is one for childhood past time. But considering the history behind kite flying and its offshoot sports, myself and others might want to pay attention to what’s blowing our way this weekend.
At Sculpture Field this Saturday, November 3rd, kites of all shapes, colors, and sizes are taking to the skies over the 33-acre park. From 12 to 6 p.m. anyone and everyone’s invited to this free event that’s brought to us by River City Kites and Chattanooga Presents Rive Rocks.
On display will be unbelievably large twenty-foot kites, which are anchored to the ground. I imagine if someone detached them, they’d be in for a wild and long ride. There will also be Rokkaku battle kites, and a team duel between Chattanooga firefighters, police officers, and volunteers. Yes, you read that right. Fighting. With. Kites.
Rokkaku (pronounced roke-cock-coo) dates back to feudal Japan. Original kites of this hexagon design were painted with the faces of famous, or infamous, samurai, but fighting with these type of kites stems from western societies.
If you want to get an idea of what these aerial attacks look like go to YouTube and search rokkaku kite battles: all kites are released at once, and they knock each other out until only one remains flying.
Food trucks and live music will also be in attendance to the park, which is located at 1800 Polk St. For more information, visit sculpturefields.org.