Harden Kite Festival 2023

On the 7th October Grace, Sam, Rosalie, Lorelei and I attended the Harden Kite Festival for 2023, unfortunately work and other commitments meant that their parents could not join us. It took us over two hours to drive there as we had to stop to deal with some motion sickness and I had to drop something off to my Aunt in Cootamundra; she also had a bag of books for us that was greatly appreciated!  The motion sickness was not unexpected and we also have a sympathetic vomiter or two, so preparations had been made in advance. All of the grandchildren had nausea relief bands on and each had a bellybug sick bag at hand.  I was very thankful for the bellybug sick bags and so were two of the children!  They are definitely on my must have list for home and travel!

Apart from the motion sickness we had a very good trip over to Harden with the children having a fun singalong on the way.  As we approached the venue we could clearly see the kites in the distance, which elevated the sense of excitement in the car.  Soon enough everyone had selected a favourite kite and design features were being discussed.  Parking at the event was extremely well organised and all of the officials/volunteers at the festival were extremely friendly and helpful.

Upon arrival at the festival we watched and discussed the kites that were flying for some time, with Tom and Jerry, Spongebob and the Unicorn ones all being favourites.  Then we watched some of the cultural performances before purchasing day ride tickets, as the grandchildren unsurprisingly unanimously voted that they wanted to go on the rides next.  They all had a great time on the jumping castles, pirate ship and slide and would have spent much longer on them but for the very long lines and wait times.  The weather which had been quite cool at the start of the day had warmed up considerably by now and drinks were needed!  

The Festival had a wide variety of food and drinks options available, however next time we will definitely take our own picnic as it would be more convenient and cost effective for us.  After a go at the sideshow attractions and with prizes in hand, we explored the stalls and displays, before Rosalie, Lorelei and Sam played in the sand pit for a while.  Time was getting away from us and everyone was getting tired by then, so we purchased a kite to take home and had a look at the lego displays before leaving. We drove away, all extremely happy that we had come and with plans to return next year! Next year however, we will bring more family members, arrive much earlier in the day and pack a picnic.  

On the way home we stopped at Cootamundra, grabbing food and drinks from Woolworths before stopping at Albert Park for an impromptu picnic and then a play at Livvi’s Place.  The grandchildren and I love this park and they had great time playing together there again.  Unfortunately we could not stay long and we were soon back on the road, with singing, stories and car games occupying our time for the rest of our journey home, with no motion sickness this time! It was a great day, thank you to all involved for such a wonderful festival experience!

Harden Kite Festival 2023

Harden Kite Festival 2023

Livvi’s Place, Albert Park, Cootamundra