It’s time to get your kites ready! We’re very excited for the 86th Annual Zilker Park Kite Festival, which will be held on Sunday, Mar. 1 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. On the first Sunday in March each year, more than 20,000 locals gather in Zilker Park to spend a fun day flying kites with family and friends at this free event. Everyone’s invited to pack a picnic, bring the kids and dogs, show off your best kite-flying skills, and even enter a kite contest if you choose. And this year, Do512 Family will be at the Kite Festival near the Kids Zone with lots of great swag to give away including a WOOM bike to raffle off!

The Zilker Park Kite Festival is always a great excuse to get our for a day of fun with the kids and soak up all of the awesomeness about Austin. It’s a colorful festival experience with plentiful food trucks, music, wonderful people-watching and a great community spirit. Of course, with any big festival comes crowds and careful planning is needed to avoid transportation hassles. Here’s all the info to help you make the most of your Kite Festival experience…

— New in 2015: Maudie’s Kite Fest Breakfast
Want to ensure that you can park easily right in Zilker Park? The Maudie’s Kite Fest Breakfast is your opportunity to get VIP parking in Zilker Park, a catered hot breakfast provided by Maudie’s Tex-Mex, hot coffee provided by Wanderlust Coffee Truck, a collectible official Kite Fest kite, early access to the park, a swag bag filled with a shirt, cap, samples, and more! And all proceeds from these breakfast tickets ($65 for a family of 4) go to Communities In Schools of Central Texas. For more info & to purchase tickets, click here.

— Schedule:

• Booths open at 10 a.m.
• Registration for the kite contests starts at 11 a.m.
• Kite contests starts at 1 p.m.
• Festival closes at 5 p.m.

— Parking & Shuttles:
There is limited parking in Zilker Park. Please don’t come to the event with plans of parking in the park as the few spaces available will fill up quick and early in the day. Barton Springs Road will be closed from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. during the Kite Festival. Free parking is available:

• Downtown at the State parking lots at 1604 Colorado Street
• South at the Toney Burger Activity Center at 3200 Jones Road

Shuttle buses come to these two parking lots for pick-up & drop-off throughout the day. The first shuttle departs at 9:45 a.m. and the last shuttle going to the park leaves at 2:30 p.m. Shuttles will continue taking riders back to the parking lots until 5:30 p.m. Round trip shuttle rides are $5 for persons 12 yrs and over. Well mannered dogs on leashes are allowed on the shuttles for free.Take note that no large coolers will be allowed on the shuttles.

Other Parking Options:

• One Texas Center at 505 Barton Springs Road parking lot is available all day at no charge.
• The Palmer Events Center (900 Barton Springs Road), depending upon their events schedule, may have parking available for the Kite Festival. There is a fee for that garage.

— Food & Vendors:
No Austin festival is complete without a great assortment of food trucks as well as cotton candy, funnel cakes, and kettle corn. You can also expect to find Henna tattoo booths, face-painting, balloon animals, pet adoption center, Tag-a-Kid, Kite Fest merchandise, and so much more! For more info on vendors, click here.

— Do512 Family Giveaways!
Be sure to stop by the Do512 Family booth near the Kids Zone! We would love to have you stop by and say “hi” in person. And we’ll have lots of great prizes to give away, including this awesome WOOM Bike, valued at over $400!

—  Kite Contests:
If you wish, you can sign up to participate in one of many contests during the day — strongest kite, steadiest kite, most unusual kite and more. For a list of contests and details, click here.

— Rain Date:
A rain date is planned for Sunday, Mar. 8, 2015.

— Need a Kite?
Sure you can buy a kite at many local stores, but you can also make your own! The Zilker Park Kite Festival website offers lots of tutorials and tips on how to make a kite. You can also attend a Kite-Making Workshop for Families at Northwest Recreation Center on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 1-3 p.m. where materials will be provided for free.

We can’t wait to see you there!