The Blossom Kite Festival
Thousands of colored kites painted the sky over the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the annual Blossom Kite Festival.
- Colored flags flap in the wind under the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the annual Blossom Kite Festival. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)
- Two giant kites that look like scuba divers gracefully hang in the sky above the Blossom Kite Festival on the National Mall. Each has a small fish kite attached to it to further give the appearance that they are swimming. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)
- A Kite Festival participant hoists a large patriotic kite into the air in an open field. Due to the kite’s size, it was a bit of a struggle to get it flying. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)
- Paul LaMasters, from the Wings Over Washington Kite Club, amazes the crowds with skillful maneuvering of a quad-line kite. Quad-line kites have four lines attached and can be flown in little or no wind. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)
- Spectators are told by the festival announcer that Paul LaMasters can land his quad-line kite right in the palm of their hands. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)
- The colored flags provided a contrast to the gray sky on Saturday. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)
- A woman tugs on the line of a butterfly-shaped kite on the field on the western side of the Washington Monument. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)
- One woman wasn’t flying kites at the festival, but instead waved a bubble wand in the air. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)
- The Kite Festival was not the only draw to the National Mall Saturday, as flowers and cherry blossoms have begun to bloom. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)