New year, same annual tradition: Milwaukeeans fill Veteran's Park on Monday for 37th 'Cool Fool Kite Festival'

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- If you were near Milwaukee's lakefront on Monday, you probably saw the dozens of colorful kites flying high among the clouds above Veteran's Park.

Hundreds of people came out to celebrate the 37th annual "Cool Fool Kite Festival" presented by the Kite Society of Wisconsin and Illinois and Gift of Wings.

According to organizer Scott Fisher, the free yearly event was started nearly four decades ago as a way "just to have fun on New Year's Day."

"Just to say, hey, thanks for coming down and being part of what we’re doing," Fisher told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White. "Now it’s just turned into something that everybody expects, and they look forward to.”

Fisher said the fest normally draws anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 individuals of all ages and skill levels -- including a Wisconsin kite connoisseur named Jake Peters.

"I'm the 'Kite Guy!'" said Peters.

And he's not just talking about your average handhelds.

Towering above him is a near $3,000 dollar, 100-foot long, 30-foot wide custom-colored manta ray. 

"You've got like a flagship basically launching out amongst everyone else," Peters said. “I’ve actually only been doing this for five years, but the collection has definitely kind of exploded over the last couple.”

Besides the massive ray, that collection also includes a 28-foot octopus and a jellyfish that's "like 160-feet!"

"There's a lot of power behind these," Peters said.

Many on Monday were wowed by Peters' and other's kites.

Fisher said he hopes younger generations are inspired by the sights and that older generations are able to feel some of the nostalgia from when they were children.

“What a great way to bring in the new year than to fly a kite?” Fisher said. "It's freedom."

The festival also featured several members of Wisconsin snow and ice carving group "Sculptora Borealis" who brought four 300-pound ice blocks from Menomonee Falls to make into a "2024" sculpture to honor the new year.