Clockshop's Kite Festival

Each year Clockshop commissions a contemporary artist to use the form of the kite to create imagery related to the natural environment of the park and speak to its history.

2026 Festival Artist: Franciso Ramos

Francisco Ramos, this year’s commissioned kite artist and two-time kite competition winner, will create a design that reflects on the meditative nature of our park spaces, realized in the style of a Guatemalan barrilete.

Ramos hails from Guatemala, where there exists a long and storied history of kitemaking, both as objects of play that require few resources and as symbols of the union between the spiritual and material worlds, flown on the occasion of El Día de los Muertos. The hexagonal designs, decorated with scenes cut from papel chino and tails strung with noise-making instruments, are formal nods to the traditions of his homeland. A husband and father, he is teaching the techniques of his craft to his two daughters, imparting to them the freedom he feels when flying kites, where he lets his imagination soar. Parks, to him, are places where one can find calm and healing, and he often spends weekends in nature with his family.

SEE PAST KITE FESTIVAL ARTISTS HERE.

Have you ever made your own kite? The Handcrafted Kite Competition will return to the Kite Festival for its third iteration in 2026. We welcome kitemakers of all skill levels, from beginner to experienced, to showcase their creations and enter the competition for a chance to win.

This all-ages competition will be judged by this year’s Kite Masters, with awards for the top three designs based on creativity, structure, and craftsmanship. We can’t wait to celebrate the vibrant communities of makers, artists, and visionaries whose creations brighten our skies. 

Alongside kite flying, Clockshop presents free arts workshops in collaboration with local organizations and artists, offering creative experiences for participants of all ages and skill levels. Please note that children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.

Clockshop is pleased to welcome Rediscover Center to host a Ribbon Wand Workshop and a Parachute Toy Workshop during the event. Guided by Rediscover’s mission to equip makers with the tools, resources, and confidence to explore creative reuse and self-expression, these hands-on sessions are open to all. We’re excited to offer these workshops free of charge to everyone interested in participating.

Ribbon Wand Workshop
In this workshop, participants will create their own ribbon wand using colorful ribbons, simple handles, and reclaimed materials. The activity is designed to be accessible for all ages and skill levels, making it especially well-suited for young children, families, and anyone who enjoys playful, movement-based making.

Parachute Toy Workshop
This hands-on workshop invites participants to design and build a small parachute toy inspired by classic childhood experiments. Participants will explore how different materials, shapes, and weights affect a parachute’s movement through the air.  After building and testing their designs, participants will launch their creations from a nearby bridge to watch them fly!

We highly encourage attendees to make their own kites, purchase a kite from our friends at Bridge Kite Shop, or visit the American Kitefliers Association here for resources to ensure you can join in on kite-flying festivities! 

At the festival attendees can visit the kite-making station to make sure they are ready to fly.

Kites traverse boundaries. They can soar over national borders and are important symbols of cultural heritage. We hope that this resource guide can enrich the work you’re already doing in your classroom to inspire curiosity about a wide range of academic subjects and a deep sense of care for the wide world we belong to.

Kites have much to teach us, whether we approach them through the lens of history, science, literature, art, or mathematics — or all of the above. The study of kites invites opportunities for joyful, hands-on exploration; meaningful social-emotional learning; and the focused deepening of academic skills. This activity and resource guide is a collection of kite-related offerings for you to explore and adapt, in combination or individually, with your students in leading up to Clockshop’s Kite Festival.

Explore the Activity & Resource Guide here.

Arrival
Los Angeles State Historic Park is located at 1245 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, directly adjacent to Chinatown and the Metro Gold Line. The park is located just 1 mile away from Los Angeles Union Station, making it accessible from several Metro routes. We will offer ample bike parking, and highly encourage the bike-riding public to join, either by biking independently or setting up group-rides to the park. Otherwise, we ask attendees to prioritize public transportation, rideshare, biking, or carpooling.

Parking
Parking at Los Angeles State Historic Park is extremely limited. There are two paid parking options at the park, both of which are on a first-come, first-served basis: the Main Parking Lot (1543 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012) and overflow lots operated by a third-party vendor for a flat fee of $20. Please consider reserving these spots for families with young children and those with limited mobility. If you are able-bodied and are not accompanying young children, consider using street parking or, better, public transportation. If parking on the street, please avoid street parking to the South and East of N. Main Street; this is a dense residential area and street parking needs to be reserved for residents.

Restrooms
Several portapotties will be available on site. The park’s main restrooms will be unavailable for the duration of the festival.

For Public Transit take one of these lines to one of the stops:
Metro L (Gold) Line
Chinatown

Dash Downtown B
Alameda St. & W College St.

Dash Lincoln Heights/Chinatown
N Broadway & W College St.
Alameda St. & W College St.
N Main St. & W College St.
N Main St. & Wilhardt St.
Broadway & Avenue 18

Metro Bus Line 45
N Broadway & W College St.
Broadway & Avenue 18

Metro Bus Line 76
Alameda St. & W College St.
N Main St. & W College St.
N Main St. & Wilhardt St.

If you’d like to sponsor this event please reach out to us our Director of Development, Annie Lascoe Palmer at annie[at] clockshop.org

2026 Support
This event was made possible by our ongoing partnership with California State Parks, our event sponsors, programming partners, Clockshop Circle donors, and the generous support of our broader community.