Clockshop's Kite Festival

Clockshop’s Kite Festival
Free. Family-friendly. May 9, 2026 from 2:00–6:00 PM
Los Angeles State Historic Park

Admission is free. A suggested donation of $5–10 helps us keep it that way.

Explore frequently asked question here: https://clockshop.org/project/clockshops-kite-festival/


ABOUT THIS YEAR’S KITE FESTIVAL

This year’s festival is organized around the theme Take a Breath — a celebration of the wind that lifts our kites, the open sky above this park, and the air that connects us all.

• Free art and kite-making workshops for all ages: no experience needed, supplies provided. The winners of our youth category will each receive a gift certificate for one week at Rediscover Center’s Summer Tinkering Camp in Glendale!

• Artist commissions: Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader unveil a new inflatable sculpture exploring communication, language, and sound. Kite artist Francisco Ramos presents a Guatemalan barrilete-style commission reflecting on the meditative quality of our park spaces.

• Kite competition: bring a handmade kite and compete for best in show, judged by kite masters

• Live music and dancing: cumbia lesson with King Dance, followed by a set by Azucar LA

• Community resources: meet local organizations working in the neighborhoods surrounding the park
  

  Join us on instagram @clockshopla for information leading up to the event.

WHY A KITE FESTIVAL?

A few years ago, a developer proposed building a private gondola over LA State Historic Park — a ticketed ride, above free public land, in one of the most park-poor neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Longtime residents were furious.

Clockshop’s response was a kite festival.

Thousands of families came. Kids built kites. Artists performed. The sky above the park filled with color — and the message was impossible to miss: this is our sky. This is our park. It belongs to us.

The gondola proposal didn’t go away on its own. But a community made clear it wouldn’t go quietly either.

The Kite Festival is still here. Still free. Still flying.

GETTING THERE

Transit
Metro recommended. Gold Line to Chinatown station — short walk to the park. Located 1 mile from Union Station, accessible from several Metro routes.

Bike
Ample bike parking available. Group rides welcome.

Parking
Very limited. Two paid lots on a first-come, first-served basis (~$20 flat fee). Please use transit, rideshare, or street parking if you’re able-bodied and not accompanying young children — reserve close spots for families with strollers and guests with limited mobility. If parking on the street, avoid residential streets to the south and east of N. Main Street.

Restrooms
Portable restrooms available on site. Main park restrooms will be closed during the festival.

Accessibility
The park is flat and paved — stroller and wheelchair accessible.



ABOUT CLOCKSHOP
As a Los Angeles-based arts and culture nonprofit, Clockshop produces free public programming and commissions contemporary artist projects on public land to better connect Angelenos to the land we live on. 

We address the climate crisis as a cultural problem that requires equitable cultural solutions. Through long-term collaborations with artists, like-minded partners, and local stakeholders, Clockshop promotes ecological stewardship and climate resilience among the communities we serve. 

Our projects center working-class communities of color in Los Angeles and aim to support the wellbeing and vitality of multiple communities. Whether Indigenous, African American, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or immigrants living in LA, we shape the city’s future together.

We bring this mission to our work at Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown and Rio de Los Angeles State Park (The Bowtie) in Glassell Park, in collaboration with California State Parks.