Sky Fest Kite Festival Canceled
By: Donna Schwarz
After 27 annual festivals, Sky Fest over Fort Stevenson was canceled by the State Park, shattering the tradition of many that look forward to and ending a record held as the longest running festival in the state. Sky Fest is one of the largest kite flying events in the state every year.
“I was not sure why the State Park canceled it because I had just gone over my event plan with the North Central Health District,” Rena Rustad, Sky Fest organizer for the past eight years said, “I had also asked about postponing it because I certainly would have, but I never received a new date.”
Fort Stevenson State Park manager Chad Trautman said that “As of May 1, all of our summer events were postponed or canceled per the CDC recommended guidelines.” Trautman added, “We certainly want events to happen, because they are an important part of our park but we are following CDC guidelines to ensure public safety.”
As an alternative, Rustad said, “This would have been the 28th consecutive year of kite flying at Fort Stevenson State Park, ending a record I guess you could say. We decided to fly kites at Indian Hills Lewis and Clark look-out instead.”
