Look up on a windy day at the beach and you’ll see bright, colorful shapes diving and swooping above the sand. Kite flying on the Oregon Coast is an activity that’s easy for little kids and fun for adults too. Check out these annual kite-flying festivals with demos, races, classes, competitions and more.

The Rockaway Beach Kite Festival, May 17-19, is a casual, family-friendly event. Members of the Associated Oregon Kiters help kids build small kites and learn to fly them. Professional kite fliers do kite ballet; box, dual-line and multi-line kites; maneuverable sport kites; fighting rokkaku kites and more. (RockawayBeach.net)

The Lincoln City Summer Kite Festival takes flight June 22 and 23 at the D-River Wayside. The weekend includes featured flyers and family-friendly activities like kite-making, a kid’s kite parade and a mass ascension. It’s two days of exciting color, movement, special shapes and dramatic demonstrations. (OregonCoast.org)

The Southern Oregon Kite Festival, held July 20-21 in Brookings, is an invitational event bringing some of the best kite makers and fliers in the U.S. together to perform and display. Great for families. (SouthernOregonKiteFestival.com)

Photo: Lincoln City Summer Kite Festival