20 Mar Huntington Beach State Park heads for new heights with annual Kite Festival Hundreds of colorful kites of all shapes and sizes — from triangles and diamonds to animals such as birds, turtles, fish, jellyfish, butterflies, dragonflies, and octopi — will soon fill the sky on South Carolina’s Hammock Coast®. Huntington Beach State Park will host its third annual Kite Festival on Saturday, March 23, and Sunday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days to welcome the spring season. This is a rain-or-shine event. The festival will feature kite demonstrations by Klig’s Kites, kites for sale (at discounted rates), live local music, food trucks, inflatable obstacle courses, a petting zoo, face painting, and kids’ activities, including kite coloring. Kites will fill the skies at Huntington Beach State Park on March 23 and 24. (Photo courtesy of Klig’s Kites) “The kite festival is a great community activity with a family-friendly atmosphere,” Huntington Beach State Park’s Senior Park Ranger Carley Karpinski said. “There are kites available for purchase or feel free to bring your own kite and join in the fun!” Click here for a video from the park’s inaugural Kite Festival. Park admission is required for entry each day, which is $8 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for children ages 5 to 15, and free for children ages 5 and under. The event will be held at the 2,500-acre park’s South Beach access, across from the gift shop, and on the three-mile stretch of pristine beach at the park. Lauren Kligman, the general manager of Klig’s Kites, said she and her staff are excited to be part of Huntington Beach State Park’s Kite Festival, which is a family-fun event. “You can see art all day long but when do you get to see art in the sky?” she said. “Enjoy art in the sky at this years Kite Festival!” Kligman said her father, Richard Kligman, and her uncle, Bruce Kligman, are the owners of Klig’s Kites, which they opened at the former Pavilion area in nearby Myrtle Beach in 1982. The company has had several locations over its 40 years, but now has two locations, one at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach and one in North Myrtle Beach, she said. Organizers of the state park’s Kite Festival are expecting hundreds of kites — of all shapes and colors — to fly high over Huntington Beach. (Photo courtesy of Klig’s Kites) She added that Klig’s Kites has held kite festivals since 1982. “These are great events that make the sky pretty, where the canvas is the sky and the artwork is the colorful kites,” Kligman said. “No matter what your age, size or experience, you can learn how to fly a kite in a matter of minutes. And don’t let the lack of wind discourage you because it’s coming.” The Hammock Coast is located in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Georgetown County’s casual charm and Southern hospitality earned it the nickname Hammock Coast. Adventure and relaxation blend together in perfect harmony, like the flowing and ebbing of waves on the county’s famed beaches. With six communities – southern Garden City, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield Beach, Pawleys Island, Georgetown and Andrews – comprising the pristine coastal area between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, visitors can experience South Carolina’s Hammock Coast like never before. Award-winning Huntington Beach State Park is located in Murrells Inlet on U.S. Highway 17. It has nearly 180 campsites and access to one of the best beaches in South Carolina. Birders flock to the park from all over the United States to see some of the more than 300 species of birds that have been spotted there. For more information about the park, call 843-237-4440. By Clayton Stairs / tourism manager for the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce and South Carolina’s Hammock Coast® A Pawleys Island family chases behind their kite at Huntington Beach State Park. (Photo by Chris Rogers/Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce) 0 Hammock-All, Murrells Inlet
