Lie on the grass and take in a beautiful kite-flying festival in this Cork park

This one is maximum summer vibes.
Carrigaline Community Park is transforming into a technicolour dreamscape thanks to the annual Basant Kite Flying Festival.
This festival, which takes place on Saturday, June 1st from 2pm until 8pm, is all about spreading out a giant picnic blanket, channelling your inner child, and battling the wind with a gloriously impractical kite.

Organised by Amna Walayat, the Basant Festival is inspired by a Hindu event that commemorates the arrival of spring with the colour yellow.
Make a kite, join a Mango Party…
The event will include a range of interesting activities that will please participants of all ages, including a Mango Party from 4pm to 4:45pm held in the Carrigaline Community Complex.
“Mango is a much-loved and expensive fruit, abundant in the summer season, and it’s an identity of the Indian subcontinent region, often referred to as the King of fruits.” the organisers told us.
“The ways of eating mango are both fun and challenging, whether in public, alone and in well celebrated Mango Parties in the region. This Mango Party is a fun-and-learn event to tackle this fruit and its cultural significance, celebrating the yellow colour that is also the symbol of Basant.”

Both children and adults can participate in kite-making classes provided by artists Kim Ling Morris and Riki Matsuda. Kim-Ling, a Cork-based artist from Sample-Studios, will be installing Japanese Koinoburi (carp fish kites) in Carrigaline Park as part of her work with students of Gaelcholáiste ní Mhuire.
There’ll also be food stalls, dance performances, and even artsy workshops.
Plus, who needs a fancy gym membership when you can get a full-body workout from running around a field like a lunatic trying to get your kite airborne?
You can get your free tickets to the festival here.

