'It’s really cool': Three-day kite festival in Dieppe a joy for flyers, spectators

A huge open field at a park in Dieppe was the perfect place to go fly a kite Sunday.

Over 50 kite flyers from around North America, and one from France, gathered at Dover Park for the ImaginAIR festival.

This was the 16th year the City of Dieppe has held an international kite festival, but it was the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic.

Jonathan Desroches, a community agent with the City of Dieppe, said ImaginAIR is a magical event for the whole family.

“It's always different. It's fun. It's something you've never seen. We all know kites, small kites, but all of a sudden you come here and there's a kite that's one hundred feet long. It's two, three, four hundred feet in the air. It's pretty impressive just to see,” said Desroches.

Kites flying at the ImaginAIR festival in Dieppe, New Brunswick. (CTV/Derek Haggett)

Donna Taylor travelled from Port Colborne, Ont., to be at the festival.

“My husband and I come to this festival as invited kite flyers from Ontario. We bring our motor home full of gear ready to put up colour and pageantry here,” said Taylor. “It's a very gentle sport, it has a wonderful community. People on the field, we have met all over the world and returned here every year to meet up with friends.”

Kerry St Dennis of Guelph, Ont., had the largest kite at the park on Sunday, a massive Blue Whale.

Kerry St Dennis flying his giant blue whale kite at the ImaginAIR festival in Dieppe. (CTV/Derek Haggett)

The appeal for him is the relaxation and joy.

“Having fun, the atmosphere, come out and just enjoy the festivals. That's basically what we do. Come out and fly the kites. Once you buy one kite, you get the next kite and you end up with a big whale like this,” laughed St Dennis.

Don Tuff of Peabody, Mass. made the trip from New England with his team and their giant green dragon to be at the festival and travel around the Maritimes.

“I went to the Newport Kite Festival back years ago and saw dragons, or a dragon which happened to be made by a man from up here and I fell in love with it. It's a good way to spend some time outside and see friends,” said Tuff.

Steven LeBouthillier of Moncton brought his young to son to see the kite flyers make their magic.

“It’s really cool, it’s nice for the families,” said LeBouthillier. “The best part is being able to play outside in the not to warm weather.”

The three-day event wrapped up Sunday afternoon.

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