Community involvement ensures festival keeps flying high

On April 5, the 97th Annual ABC Kite Fest took place in Austin, Texas.

This incredible event has become an Austin tradition and a true treasure for generations of Austinites. Established in 1923 by a service organization called the Exchange Club of Austin, this amazing festival is now put on and owned by my company, ABC Home & Commercial Services.

For many years, I had searched for a community event that my company could put on and own. About 15 years ago, I was approached to be a sponsor of the Zilker Park Kite Festival. This small, local festival had a rich history and was put on and owned by the Exchange Club. We agreed to be a sponsor, and from there, the relationship between the Exchange Club and ABC began to grow.

Expanding role

The Exchange Club would organize and put on the festival, and ABC paid a sponsorship fee and provided volunteers to help put on the event. This was the formula for several years until the Exchange Club asked whether ABC would be interested in owning and being responsible for the continuation of this iconic event.

I jumped at the opportunity, believing this event was good for our community, families and ABC. We signed an agreement to establish The Friends of The ABC Kite Festival, which has board members from the Exchange Club, ABC and community leaders. The contract is between ABC, the Exchange Club and the City of Austin as we hold the event in Zilker Park — Austin’s “Central Park” downtown.

ABC Kite Fest continues to be a remarkable event, with an attendance of between 40,000 and 60,000 people. The sky is filled with kites flown by people of all ages.

Family-friendly fun

The kite contest is the oldest and most cherished tradition at the festival. We have several kite categories for children and adults, including largest, smallest, highest-flying and most unusual kites. There’s even a 50-yard dash for children while flying their kites. Local TV personalities judge the contests.

We also added MossFest, a concert for children named to honor my first grandchild. Moss Pieratt passed away 11 years ago at the age of 15 months, and his death is categorized as sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC). This simply means we don’t know what caused his death. We have a separate stage in the park for MossFest and bring in artists specializing primarily in children’s music. It’s a perfect addition to ABC Kite Fest and something we all look forward to each year.

Other activities at ABC Kite Fest include the Children’s Zone, where we have dozens of bouncy houses, rock wall climbing and face painting. There also is a Pet Zone, where attendees can bring their pets and let them play in a fenced area with a pet obstacle course.

The Kite Showcase is always a crowd favorite, as we bring in professional kite flyers to fly unique, giant kites on the showcase field. Seeing these beautiful giant kites against the backdrop of our incredible downtown is genuinely spectacular.

Another of our favorite attractions each year is the fantastic local food trucks that provide our attendees with unique and fabulous food options. We generally have about 30 food trucks that pay a fee to attend and then sell their food to the public. The variety and quality are something people look forward to each year.

We also have the Highflyers Club, where attendees can purchase a VIP experience that includes parking, breakfast and lunch, along with a designated area to watch all the activities and hang out. This is one of the ways we have tried to monetize the event over the years.

Keeping it free

One of the key components of ABC Kite Fest is that it’s a free event. Everyone is welcome; seeing so many people enjoying a spring day in the park is beautiful. Of course, putting on a free event for over 50,000 people presents its challenges. We must provide parking, bus transportation, police, EMS and porta-potties. The list goes on and on with all that needs to be in place for an event like this.

To help us manage all the different requirements and details, we hired Mueller Scott Concepts, a production company experienced in putting on festivals in Austin. They provide day-of management, logistics and operations and are incredible at organizing big events.

To help offset costs, we sell corporate sponsorships to different aspects of ABC Kite Fest. For example, PNC Bank sponsors the MossFest stage, Texas Mutual Insurance sponsors the Highflyers Club, HEB sponsors the Kite Contest and Texas Children’s Hospital sponsors the Kids Zone. We also sell several packages to companies that want a tent at the festival.

Every year, when ABC Kite Fest is over, we hope to have taken in more money than we have spent. We then donate the proceeds to our two beneficiaries: the Moss Pieratt Foundation and Communities in Schools. It’s an extra-special part of ABC Kite Fest when we make a check presentation to these two wonderful nonprofits.

Our hosting of ABC Kite Fest benefits us and our community because so many people appreciate this free, family-friendly event year after year. I like to think of the festival as our gift to the community, and I hope it will continue for another 97 years.