Kite Festival will fly into Livingston on Sunday

The fourth annual Livingston Kite Festival will glide its way into the city this weekend.

The free event, hosted by the Knights of Columbus, will take flight from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The first 500 kids will receive a free kite, according to organizers.

The festival will feature a landing by the Merced County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, a pie-eating contest by the Livingston Rotary Club, face painting, bounce houses and pony rides. Attendees also can check out safety demonstrations.

A Kite Building Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m Friday at the Livingston Community Center, 847 Prusso St. Organizers will provide kite-building supplies and people can enter their kites into a contest to win a cash prize and trophy.

The Kite Festival this year will kick off the Week of the Young Child, a nationwide observance meant to bring attention to the development of children and the needs of their families, which runs April 12-18.

Last year’s Kite Festival attracted more than 4,000 people from all over the state, according to Julio Valadez of the Knights of Columbus. A line formed before the gates opened, he said. It took less than 30 minutes for the Knights of Columbus to hand out 500 free kites to children.

The Kite Festival will take place at Livingston Middle School, 101 F Street in Livingston.

This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 7:44 PM with the headline "Kite Festival will fly into Livingston on Sunday."