Kites soar over the Berkeley Marina for high-flying festival

Kite flying soared high as a solo or team sport, as a ballet, as an artistic pursuit and also as a family activity at the Berkeley Kite Festival Sunday, which drew more than 35,000 to the Berkeley Marina over the weekend. Carol and Cass Pittman of San Diego have elevated their competitive kiting to a performance art, elegantly choreographing the swoops and drops of their steerable multi-line sports kites to the stirring strains of “Feeling Good,” the song made classic by singer Nina Simone. The retired couple starting competing about four years ago, enjoying the physicality of the sport as well as the art of crafting and performing routines to music. “If you’ve ever seen us play golf, you’ll know why we do kiting,” said Cass Pittman, 63, as the pair wrapped up their performance Sunday. McAlister, owner of Highline Kites and a member of the Berkeley Kite Wranglers, said he wanted to share with people the artistry and excitement of kite flying. McAlister said highlights of the festival include the more than 3,000 free kites donated to kids by festival sponsor Hills Physicians and the candy drop, in which more than 500 pounds of candy are dropped from kites over the two days. While the sun didn’t start to peek out over the water until Sunday afternoon, most festival goers didn’t seem to mind and said the winds were strong enough to do their job. Glenn Mitchell, 67, of Coalinga (Fresno County), discovered indoor kite flying as a supplement to weight training after he retired from teaching high school biology after 36 years. The sport didn’t look too taxing as he monitored his 85-foot-long show kite with two black witches attached — a type of inflated kite known as “line laundry.”