This October, the Cape Town International Kite Festival returns to the skies, bringing a burst of colour, joy, and an important message—mental health matters. As kites soar high above the city, the festival serves as a reminder of the importance of mental well-being, community support, and raising awareness for mental health issues. Hosted annually, this beloved event combines fun, creativity, and advocacy, inviting families, artists, and kite enthusiasts to take part in a day of celebration. With mental health at the heart of the festival, it’s an opportunity to start conversations, spread positivity, and show support for those facing mental health challenges. Join the movement, fly a kite, and help make mental health awareness visible to all!
October is mental health awareness month worldwide, and for the past 30 years, the Cape Town International Kite Festival’s annual activations have played a significant role in allowing people to speak freely, without fear of labels, about their mental health. As Cape Mental Health’s flagship event since 1994, it allows artists, mental health ambassadors, staff, mental health care users, volunteers and everyone to share their stories of pain, healing and recovery. Every conversation that matters chips away at the stigma, facilitating non-judgmental and non-discriminatory conversations about mental health.
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” – Glenn Close.
Mental health matters and mental health conditions are more common than we realise. As we live in challenging and difficult times, many economic and dire social conditions impact on our mental well-being as we navigate the storms. It is in these times that Cape Mental Health directs its sails to provide mental health interventions that invest in lives and give back hope, build and strengthen resilience, and empower individuals and communities.
This year’s theme for the Cape Town International Kite Festival is #HopeOnAString, because despite the fragility of the string, it allows the kite to fly higher and higher – just as we humans rise above the circumstances that life throws our way. #HopeOnAString brings a message of hope, potential and encouragement when faced with adverse circumstances. Each tug of a string is a reminder of the strength and resilience within us all. Cape Mental Health’s primary goal each year is to find a theme that facilitates their massive mental health awareness and promotion campaign, ultimately facilitating a pathway that encourages early intervention and mental health support. It is an opportunity to ensure that conversations regarding mental health are normalised.
The Cape Town International Kite Festival has grown over the past 30 years from a small one-day event to an international kite-flying event that hosts local, national and international kiters, pop-up flies, community flies, Edukite Competitions, on-stage entertainment, kite-making workshops, and more. As the event grew, new elements were added, creating greater attraction and more opportunities to raise awareness of mental health and the inclusion and integration of children, youth and adults with mental disability.
Mental health awareness and mental health conversations flow more naturally than before, and more young people are speaking openly about their mental health challenges. They have shifted the narrative and are bold in recommending what they believe is essential to protect their mental health.
The Cape Town International Kite Festival’s annual Pop-Up Fly Event will take place at Melkbosstrand Beach on Sunday, 27 October from 10H00, and will feature extraordinary local professional kiters such as Mari and Bradley Ware-Lane, Bobby Gathoo, Brian Skinner, and others – as well as a few international surprises!
As part of Cape Mental Health’s aim to uplift less fortunate communities and the most marginalised of people, the Cape Town International Kite Festival once again featured its annual Community Fly at Heideveld Sports Field on the Cape Flats on 23 October 2024. Cape Mental Health invited children with intellectual disability from CMH’s Special Education & Care Centres in Heideveld, Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain to join in the fun at the community fly, as well as other Grade R learners and preschools in the Heideveld community.
The Cape Town International Kite Festival will also host its EduKite Competition – a kite-decorating and kite-making competition for learners from mainstream primary school schools and schools for children with special educational needs, with monetary prizes for the winning teams. This year this exclusive prize giving event will be held at Curro Century City on 26 October – a brand new community supporting mental health awareness.
THEY NEED YOUR KINDNESS AND HELP TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
To continue Cape Mental Health‘s vital work and expand their reach, they rely on the generosity and support of compassionate corporates and members of the public.
Whether you can contribute R100 or R10 000, your donation can make a significant difference to the lives of vulnerable children and adults.
By donating to the Cape Town International Kite Festival, you will not only help to sustain their current programmes, but also extend their reach to more children and families in need.
TOGETHER, WE CAN CREATE A BRIGHTER FUTURE.
ABOUT THE CAPE TOWN KITE FESTIVAL
Since 1994, Cape Mental Health has proudly hosted the Cape Town International Kite Festival, Africa’s oldest kiting event, dedicated to raising funds and advocating for mental wellness. To learn more about the upcoming 30th Cape Town International Kite Festival, visit www.capementalhealth.co.za/HopeOnAString. Discover the rich history and exciting details of this remarkable event that brings together the power of kites and the importance of mental health.
CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL KITE FESTIVAL CONTACT:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CTKiteFest
Twitter: @CTKiteFest
Instagram: @CTKiteFest
BackaBuddy: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/cape-mental-health-kite-festival-2024-fundraiser
Website: https://capementalhealth.co.za/HopeOnAString
Hashtags: #HopeOnAString and #CTKiteFest
You may also like
Reading Time: 5 minutesAdjusting to parenthood isn’t always easy. Caring for a baby can be tiring and, at times, extremely challenging. Learning to take care …
