Every time a film sets a scene at a beach -- that's happened once or twice over the history of cinema -- the usual tropes make their expected appearance. There are a few scattered surfboards, and perhaps a bonfire, and some people in bikinis, and pig-tailed people dancing the shag. (Okay, we're thinking of the quintessential 1960s beach-set movie here, clearly.)
But, for our money? It doesn't feel like an authentic, true-ocean-blue day at a Southern California beach without some sort of kite in the background. And every time we see yet another playful beach scene that sans a colorful flying square, we make a little wish for more kite love in future depictions.
Redondo Beach has a lot of kite love going through much of the year, and certainly around the coming of spring. That's when its famous and free Festival of the Kite kicks off. Call it a brightly hued harbinger of warmer hang-out weather ahead, or call it a good thing to do with March's notorious breezes. Both work.
The 39th annual fest flies on Sunday, March 10. The categories for the day are perfectly pier-y: best handmade, youngest flier, and highest flying. (Bring your string, and then some extra string, and then a friend to help you detangle all the string, should you go for that record.)
There's also a Hot Dog on a Stick eating contest, too. Yep, that's a food that's put in a few years next to the Pacific.
Hours for the day are noon to 5 p.m. And the best thing about this nearly four decade-old look-up-at-the-sky party? Even if you've never had luck with kites, it's still a-ok to chill out and watch. It's a beach classic, so of course chilling out while watching, and all for free, is part of the deal.
