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LOCAL Saturday 26 april 2025

Aruba’s kite flying tradition for King’s Day

and whose could fly flaw-
lessly and longer in the air.
For this year’s celebration,
Centro di Bario Playa Pabao at 8AM. our King Willem-Alexander’s
located in Madiki is organiz- birthday!
ing another edition of their Gather your family and be
kite flying event with different a part of this colorful Aruban *Mondi: Aruban woods. q
categories of height starting tradition in celebration of

(Oranjestad)—Every year for of fabric trailing behind the
King’s Day, Arubans gather back end of the kite. To fin-
with friends and family to fly ish off the process, people
kites. Big or small, paper or used fish lines or thin rope
plastic, blue skies fill up with to tie three corners of the
these colorful flying contrap- kite together. Another long
tions, brightening our yearly string of rope is tied in the
celebration of the Dutch knotted center and bundled
Monarch. up, used to steer the kite as
it flies in the air. Decorating
The tradition of flying kites the kite was especially im-
starts at home in the weeks portant, and children would
leading up to King’s Day. use paint to create their own
These kites were traditionally designs—the more colorful,
made with things found in the better!
the nearby mondi* and in
the kitchen at home. Using People usually fly their kites
dried up cactus sticks for the in big open fields, like empty
frame, old news papers, and soccer and baseball fields
glue made from flour, water found all around the island
and salt to dry faster (some around noon, when the sun
people even use cornstarch is at its brightest.
slurry as glue), kids usually
make their own kites with In the past few years, kite
their friends, parents or other flying has become a sport
close family members. Tails in which groups of people
are made from old bed would battle against each
sheets, ripped and tied to- other to see whose kite is
gether to create a long string the biggest, the prettiest,