This year the Cape Town International Kite Festival celebrates 30 years of bringing #HopeOnAString through its vibrant and colourful kites. Cape Mental Health’s flagship event since 1994, it is one of Cape Town’s most cherished events, raising awareness of mental health every October. It stands as a symbol of community strength and resilience and our shared journey towards well-being.
This October, Cape Mental Health invites all dreamers to let your kites glide among the clouds. Experience the endless possibilities that arise when your spirit soars and your dreams lift off, colouring the sky with brilliant shades of hope on a string whilst creating mental health awareness! The annual Pop-Up Fly Event will take place at Melkbosstrand Beach on Sunday, 27 October and will feature extraordinary local professional kiters such as Mari and Bradley Ware-Lane, Bobby Gathoo, Brian Skinner, Frans Marais and others – as well as Tony Jetland from California, USA and Amel Amita, Najah China and Afef Sebti all the way from Tunisia!
Come and experience the magnificence of their show-kites as they support mental health awareness!
“The Cape Town International Kite Festival is the opportunity to ensure that the conversations regarding mental health are normalised.” explains Dr Ingrid Daniels, CEO of Cape Mental Health.
Over the past 30 years, the Cape Town International Kite Festival activations have played a significant role in allowing people to speak freely, without fear of labels, about their mental health. The event allows artists, mental health ambassadors, staff, mental health care users, volunteers and everyone to share their stories of pain, healing and recovery. Every conversation that matters chips away at stigma. The Cape Town International Kite Festival is a stigma reducing enabler that facilitates non-judgmental and non-discriminatory conversations.
As part of Cape Mental Health’s aim to uplift less fortunate communities and the most marginalised of people, the Cape Town International Kite Festival will once again feature its annual Community Fly at Heideveld Sports Field on the Cape Flats on Wednesday, 23 October 2024. Cape Mental Health invites children with intellectual disability from CMH’s Special Education & Care Centres in Heideveld, Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain to join in the fun at the community fly, as well as other Grade R learners and preschools in the Heideveld community.
The Cape Town International Kite Festival will also host its EduKite Competition on Saturday, 26 October at Curro Century City High School – a kite-decorating and kite-making competition for learners from mainstream primary school schools and schools for children with special educational needs, with monetary prizes for the winning teams.
Take your kite to new heights, capture those enchanting moments in photos and videos, and spread messages of inspiration for mental health awareness this October.
Share your kite-flying adventure by tagging #HopeOnAString and @CTKiteFest and standing a chance to be featured on the official CTKiteFest social media channels.
Explore the captivating content on the CTKiteFest website, featuring an array of activities, and embark on a virtual journey to ignite your creativity and foster an appreciation for the art of kite flying.
Website: https://capementalhealth.co.za/HopeOnAString
Join this weekend for their Pop-Up Fly Event:
Date: Sunday, 27 October 2024
Venue: Melkbosstrand Beach
Time: 10H00 – 15H00