Sailing into Spring

During May of each year, my hometown holds a big kite festival in one of the largest parks in town. Kids and adults alike come out for this annual event, bringing with them kites of all shapes and sizes. And each year it seems the event grows more and more. A whole host of food trucks now line the nearby street. Activity booths with arts and crafts have popped up in the park. Pretty soon I expect to see live bands at the festival, where once music only blared from stereo speakers. It seems the entire community relishes the chance to come out and kick off spring.

What I love about the event, aside from the sense of community, is seeing all of the colorful-and creative-shapes that dot the sky, from birds and animals, giant bugs and fish, dragons and cartoon characters, to motorcycles, crazy geometric shapes, and more! The vibrant colors in this photo of fish kites make a great palette for a fun, summery, bracelet design, which combines glass, ceramic, and candy jade beads with silk ribbon and a wire-wrapped carved tagua nut cabochon.