Lincoln City, OR. – Voted as the best kite flying location in North America by Kitelines Magazine, Lincoln City is known as the Kite Capital of the World. Lincoln City has an advantage in kite flying because of its geographic location. It sits right on the 45th parallel, positioning it at the ideal point for the mixing process of the warm equatorial air and the cold polar air. Furthermore, the clean air coming directly from the ocean is preferred by kite flying experts, and novices will even see a difference in their abilities at this location.

Annual Summer and Fall Kite Festivals bring thousands of international delegates and visitors from as far away as the Orient and Europe. Though the Oregon coast has many festivals each year, Lincoln City's festivals still top them all.

The Summer Kite Festival is held in June, and features family-oriented kite flying competitions and displays. The Fall Kite Festival features the "D" River Kite Battle, a typical Japanese-style kite contest where the object is to tangle or knock down the opponent's kite, and kite demonstrations and contests, and synchronized team flying. A new indoor windless kite festival made its debut in March 2004. Now an annual spring break event, the indoor festival is a rare experience in the Pacific Northwest and features expert flying demonstrations and indoor flying lessons. It’s true: it’s windless; there are no fans---not even open windows.

In June 2005, Lincoln City hosted the World Sport Kite Championships, welcoming synchronized flying teams from Japan, Malaysia, France, Germany, England, and the United States. Synchronized team flying has now been incorporated into the spring & fall festivals.

Lincoln City has three exclusively-kite shops: Catch the Wind, Winddriven, and Flying Things, and most retailers in town carry a line of kites, windsocks, and spinsocks.

The Lincoln City area is also the home of Gomberg Kite Productions International, a company which specializes in the manufacture and sale of giant inflatable kites. David Gomberg, former president of the American Kitefliers’ Association, is honored in the World Kite Hall of Fame and is a partner in creating a 10,000-square-foot (8.3 m2) American flag kite, the largest kite in the world.

Kite flying is just one way to discover that Lincoln City is a great place to try new things.

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