Livingston event will have kites aloft and health screenings down below

Hundreds of different colored kites will be decorating the sky in Livingston while health and dental screenings will be happening down below during the sixth annual Knights of Columbus “Time to Fly” Kite Festival.

The April 9 event is to celebrate “professional and leisure kite fliers,” according to a statement from event officials, who will bring some of their biggest “show kites” shaped as things like dogs, planes, birds and octopuses.

For the first time, the kite festival will have free health and dental screenings from Livingston Community Health. The work-ups will include vision and dental screenings, blood pressure and blood work.

The kite festival, put on by Livingston Community Health, First 5 Merced County and Hot 104.7, will also have flying demonstrations, kite building contests and workshops. There will be Rubik’s cube solving and pie eating contests, food and informational vendors, bounce houses, face painting, safety demonstrations and cultural performances.

The Merced County sheriff’s Huey helicopter will be landing at the start of the festival at 8 a.m. at Livingston Middle School, 101 F St. The festival ends at 4 p.m and the first 500 kids will receive a free kite.

This story was originally published April 2, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Livingston event will have kites aloft and health screenings down below."