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By Jayanthi Liyanage

Skies over Galle Face will blaze in cacophony of colours today, when this customary host of the country's National Kite Festival will roll out on its Greens this year's festivities, billed to be the biggest in local kite history, commencing 2 p.m.

The afternoon, which will be a stunning visual treat of how modern kites have diversified, is a joint effort by Sri Lanka Tourist Board and Lion's Club of Moratuwa with the collaboration of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. (ANCL), official print media; Sirasa FM and MTV, official electronic media; and the Seylan Bank.

The organisers hope foreign participation will be attracted to the performing kites, ranging from giants as big as roof-tops to butterflies, flowers, peacocks, snakes, teddy bears, demons and many other innovatively-shaped kites, with sails decorated in traditional and contemporary patterns. A huge audience of local kite lovers and foreign media stationed locally is expected.

Kite Festival 2002 creates a precedent by adding a school category to promote the largest segment of local kite industry - the youth. "The Best Kite by a School" will have about 30 schools vying, with novel kite versions of their mottos and logos.

About 400 entries have been received for the open categories of the largest kite, the most creative kite, the highest flying kite, the kite with the best advertising or publicity slogan for Sirasa and the kite with the best advertising or publicity slogan for a sponsor (for Sri Lanka Tourist Board, Lion's Club, ANCL or the Seylan Bank). Many are from Sports Clubs, Media Institutes and groups of people from different areas such as the "24-hour group" known as listeners of after 12 am radio channels. Seven-year-old Danushka Chanuka of Nawala and his kite, many times his size, is so far the youngest entry among competing kiters.

Honouring the year's tourism theme of "Eco-Tourism", each kite flyer who will be assigned a space of about ten feet from Galle Face Green, is required to preserve his flying zone free of polythene, litter and damage to grass, or else, bear the penalty of losing marks.

All the participants will receive a certificate printed by the ANCL which will also award book vouchers to the libraries of all the winning schools. Sirasa will live webcast the event.

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