Get the family together, pack a picnic blanket and pull out a kite for KiteFest in Googong this Father’s Day. Photo: Supplied.
Excitement is sky high in Googong, with the return of a Father’s Day tradition that’s been on a pandemic-forced hiatus for three years.
Community event KiteFest will fill the skies with colour once again on Sunday, 4 September, with everyone encouraged to bring their kites and picnic blankets to enjoy a free day out, no strings attached.
Hundreds of people have flocked to the new town since the event’s inception in 2015, with about 2,000 attendees expected at this weekend’s event.
Googong senior project director Malcolm Leslie said bringing back the event would help build the town’s sense of community, and connect those who had moved to the township since the pandemic started.
“We have had to put a number of festivities on hold over the past few years, and with events an integral part of Googong’s focus it is exciting to have KiteFest back on the event calendar, bigger and better than ever before,” he said.
“The event showcases how much Googong has grown in less than a decade. As the community continues to grow, events such as KiteFest provide the opportunity for residents to make strong connections and feel part of the community.”
Lively entertainment will be provided by Sue Freeman from Run Around DJs, while the Googong Hogs Club will be holding a fundraising sausage sizzle. The Meat Wizard and Cinnaglaze will also be on site to feed hungry kite flyers.
The Father’s Day event is free and open to everyone, no strings attached. Photo: Supplied.
Googong Residents’ Association president Candice Cox said she’s looking forward to spending a day out with her family.
“It is a day where we get to spend time together as a family, but also a day for the residents to come together and enjoy the Googong community,” she said.
“We cannot wait to see what kind of kites the festival will bring this year, as each year has been such a great surprise for us and the kids, because there’s always new kites to see and admire.”
Googong local Dean Martin managed to take his family to the last KiteFest before the pandemic hit, and fondly remembered being able to spend Father’s Day at such a family-orientated event.
“When we first went in 2019 it was such a beautiful, hot day, and crowds were swarming in from all over Googong,” he said.
“The smiles we saw and the excited kids everywhere was awesome. Our son James was so excited, he could not stand still, he kept yelling, ‘Look at that one, look at that one, I want one’.
“We can not wait and hope it is a beautiful, windy (but not blowing a gale) day.”
While Danni Johnson couldn’t wait to reconnect with the whole community following the disruptions of the pandemic.
“We did attend the Father’s Day kite festival two years ago, we’d only had babies at that stage and were building … then bam, Covid hit,” she said.
“We didn’t really know much about it then, we certainly didn’t expect that kind of turn out. This year we will know to make a real day of it … I remember the music playing last time, this year I have no doubt my kids will be grooving front and centre.”
KiteFest is on Sunday, 4 September, from 11 am to 2 pm at Rockley Oval, 15 Rockley Parade, Googong.
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