Everything You Need to Know About the Windscape Kite Festival

I distinctly remember the joy of flying a kite in my childhood and seeing it soar high in the sky. A little while later, I received a stunt kite that I learnt to fly with the help of my dad. Looking back, I see that kite flying was such a nice way for us to connect as a family and enjoy the outdoors together. This past weekened, I was able to share the joy of kite flying with my kids at the free Windscape Kite Festival in Swift Current.

Our girls, age 9 and 10, had an absolute blast at the festival. There were so many activities that we ended up staying the full day. Afterwards, their excitement was so high that they even continued to fly the kites they made at the festival back at our campsite in Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park.

I am so excited to share with you everything you need to know about the Windscape Kite Festival to help you plan ahead and have an amazing day with your family.

Everything You Need to Know About the Windscape Kite Festival:

A Family-Friendly Event in Saskatchewan

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About the Windscape Kite Festival

Activities at the Windscape Kite Festival for Kids and Adults

Free Activities at the Windscape Kite Festival

Paid Activities at the Windscape Kite Festival

Where to Eat at the Festival?

Where to Stay at the Festival?

*Full Disclosure: This was a sponsored trip. However, all opinions are my own.

About the Windscape Kite Festival

David Tuttle helped launch the Windscape Kite Festival in 1998 and now resides in Swift Current, where he continues to contribute to the festival’s planning and setup. A must-visit, the Windscape Kite Festival spans two days and showcases breathtaking kites flown by professional kite flyers. Alongside enjoying the incredible kites in the sky, there are a wide array of activities for kids, captivating performances, food trucks, and the chance to fly your own kite!

In the evenings, the Long Days Night Festival takes place on site with live music. While kids are welcome to join the music festival in the evening, there aren’t that many children that attend.

Volunteers are indispensable for the Windscape Kite Festival’s operation. I helped out at the kite making station and I witnessed firsthand the significant contributions volunteers make to create a memorable Kite Festival experience. Consider volunteering for the Windscape Kite Festival in 2025!

Activities at the Windscape Kite Festival for Kids and Adults

It is incredible that you can enjoy a full day completely free at the Windscape Kite Festival. While not necessary, there are paid activities that will enhance your experience. The paid activities may be geared towards kids but many adults have enjoyed the paid activities as well!

Free Activities

Watch the Celebrity Kite Flyers

Watching the Celebrity kite flyers at the Windscape Kite Festival is absolutely free. Simply find a spot to put your chair or blanket on the ground and enjoy the kites in the sky. Don’t forget to pick up a complimentary passport and collect autographs from the celebrity kite flyers. Gather over 10 signatures to enter for a chance to win a prize!

When we entered the parking lot of the festival, we looked up and immediatey saw the beautifully hand painted and creatively sown kites soaring high in the sky. They were quite a sight. The girls and I probably mentioned that they were incredible over 100 times. My favourite was the large Rose and the painted Eagle and my girls loved the set of minions and aliens.

Throughout the day, Stunt kiters put on incredible shows throughout the day completing moves that seemed impossible. I am not sure how they manage to dance over 10 kites at a time.

Enjoy the performances

Aside from watching the kites, the Windscape Kite Festival also features performances throughout the day. Frisbee Rob, 13 times Guiness Book of World Records, was one of the presenters and did a frisbee presentation. Afterwards, he hung out all throughout the day so kids could try the various trick frisbees. Checking out his frisbee station and being lucky enough to each win a free small frisbee and have it signed was a highlight for the girls.

“Kid’s” Activities (some activities are suited for adults that are children at heart 😉

My kids were so excited about all the activities that it was hard to keep up. We managed to fit all the free activities in, including Stunt Kite Flying Lessons, which the girls really loved. Now they are begging me for a Stunt Kite.

There are many other free kids activities and these can vary each year. The Straw Bale Maze is a fun place for little kids to explore, and I love that the Obstacle Course and Plinko game both gave all the kids a prize.

The Candy Catapult is done during the day and split up into two age groups to not only prevent the teenagers from running over the little kids but also giving them a chance to have some fun. Don’t worry, if your child doesn’t get an candy, the organizers will make sure that they are given a couple pieces.

Paid Activities

Our girls were happy that we purchased some Windscape Bucks so that they could enjoy some of the paid activities. Windscape Bucks (WKF bucks) cost $2 each and each activity ranges from one to three WKF Bucks. Before the event, I went over the paid activities with them and they chose their top activities to try. Then, we bought them each 11 WKF Bucks to enjoy some of the paid activities.

If you only want to pay for one activity then choose the Kite Making Workshop for 3 Windscape Bucks. These kites are assembled on site by the kids and helpers, coloured by the kids, and then easily flown out in the field at the festival. This was one of the girls’ favourite activities. Etta made a “Ukee Dog” kite after our dog Ukee, and Julia made a Panda Kite.

Another popular activity for my kids, and almost every other kid in attendance, was the Face Painting. For three WKF bucks, they had their face painted! Remember, these activities do not only have to be for kids and adults can also enjoy the face painting if you are willing to take on the line up.

Our competitive nature took us to the ‘Running with the Bols’ activity for 1 WKF buck. Competition went out the window as the girls laughed and tried running with a parachute-like kite on their back.

The Splatter Mural was my favourite activity. For one WKF buck you got to spray a paint filled water gun on the Windscape Festival Mural. After watching my kids do the activity, we decided to all do it together. Next time, I am thinking of wearing clothes that I don’t mind getting paint on so that we can have a little extra fun 😉

My kids love bringing home “presents” and prizes and so they had to try out the Button Making and the Mystery Sandpile. Both girls designed their very own button and chose to wear it to school on Monday. The big sand pit is a perfect spot for younger children to dig in the sand for a while for 1 WKF Buck.

Those activities and the free activities gave us lots to do all day. Other stations available for a fee that we never tried, but that looked really fun, were the Bubble Station, Circus Tent, and Kite Ring Craft.

Where to Eat at the Festival?

Enjoying a picnic lunch while watching the kites is a great way to spend time at the festival. There are also food trucks on site if you want to skip packing a picnic lunch and your own snacks. We enjoyed the fresh Booster Juice during the hot day and I think that they helped keep our energy up.

My lunch choice was swayed by the lady that walked by me with a pineapple food bowl from Biggar Eats. It looked delicious and so cool. I had to try it even just for the photo! It tasted as good as it looked. The extra vegetables alongside the cooked pineapple, rice and pork was absolutely delicous.

Where to Stay at the Festival?

These hotel packages done in collaboration with the Windscape Kite Festival are worth booking. They each come with different free festival perks that vary from $30 to the Windscape Kite Store, 10 children’s WKF bucks, access to the Long Day’s Night Music Festival and coupons for the Kite Building to you save money at the festival.

Another option is to camp at Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park. This park is one of our favourites in Saskatchewan and features massive hills that are so fun for hiking. We camped in our campervan for two nights so we could enjoy some swimming at the beach and trail running.