Bali Kite Festival is an annual international event which normally held in July in Sanur Beach Padang Galak area. Traditional festival kites in various design with larger different size are made and flown competitively by teams from the villages (banjar) of Denpasar. The event is a seasonal religious festival intended to send a message to the Hindu Gods to create abundant crops and harvests.Ikan (fish-shaped), Burung (bird-shaped) and Pecukan (leaf-shaped) are three traditional kites flown during this kite festival. The kites are flown by teams of 15 or more adult kitefliers. The Ikan is the largest kite, and looks like a broad-mouthed, split-tailed fish.The Burung form has a broad flowing cloth tail that can reach more than 100 meters in length. The Pecukan requires the most skill to fly, as its unstable form often tumbles towards the ground.

Red, white and black are traditional colours used in the kite's designs. Each type of traditional kite has its own competition, with heats of 10 teams vying for the best launch and longest flight. Sometimes the kites come down over the adjacent rice paddies, and the team members have to dash through the paddy to rescue the kite before it lands in the water.A competition is also held for 'New Creation' kites which may include detailed three dimensional figures representing the Hindu Gods or sponsorship kites. Traditional and new creation kites are constructed from bamboo and cotton cloth.In the dry season of June through August, the winds blow continually from east to west in most of Indonesia. Balinese children and adults fly kites in the vacant rice paddies during this period.It is obvious the Balinese are into sound in traditional culture, for not only do the kites have hummers, and the kites have bands with them, but there are these wind machines which are placed along the flying fields behind the kite teams.

These large propeller devices are placed on top of long bamboo poles and make a very loud whooping sound as the wind increases. The kite flyers can see the direction of the wind and hear the intensity of it from the sounds these windmills make. These windmills are a part of the festival and there is a contest for them based on the quality of the sound they make.The Ikan ( bebean ) is the most widely known kite in Bali and is flown all over the island. On the following two days, the other traditional Balinese kites were flown. One is a leaf kite, Petucan, which is very hard to fly. It is perfectly symmetrical top and bottom and bowed out to the sides. It looks like a giant eye. It too has double hummers and flown off a two point bridle. It is about 25 feet wide and about 13 feet high. The tuning of the hummers in this kite is important for the flying ability. They too are in the traditional 5 colorsThe most impressive of the traditional kites is the dragon or Janggan kite. It is about 45-50 of kite, with a fan shaped tail section and a sculpted dragon head. The requisite double hummers, one up and one down, are affixed to the body of the kite. What is impressive, however is the 300 feet of cotton tail attached to this beast. As the kite is launched, it is unfurled by the launch team, a most beautiful sight.