The Ocean Beach Kite Festival and Parade, an annual family tradition hosted by the local Kiwanis Club, the OB Recreation Center and Ocean Beach Elementary School, attracted more than 1,200 visitors Saturday. Now in its 63rd consecutive year, the event is the oldest-running children’s kite festival in the U.S., according to Jim Kelly, a member of the Ocean Beach Kiwanis Club and former club president. “Kiwanians proudly make an effort. Everybody donates time and materials,” said Kelly, as he served up free hot dogs to the young participants. “We like to give joy to the community and always welcome new members.” About 25 arts and crafts vendors offered a variety of goods and attractions during the festival, including the attention-grabbing “Frog-Hopper” ride. Inside the schoolyard, ideas for kite designs ranged from modern themes like OB Dance Team, OB Red Rocks, Ninja and SuperMario Castle to the more traditional rainbow or seasonal offerings. The latter was the case for 7-year-old Sierra, who joined in the fun with her mother, Jennifer. Although the pair lives in Ocean Beach, they missed last year’s event. Sierra had her reasons for choosing a spring-themed kite design. “I love spring,” Sierra said. “The trees get leafy, the flowers bloom pretty and lots of butterflies come out and drink the flowers’ nectar.” The festival, however, also generated interest from outside Ocean Beach. Some participants noticed the event’s posting on www.OceanBeachSanDiego .com and made the trek to OB from places like Pasadena, Oceanside and Imperial Beach. “It looked like a cool thing to do on a Saturday,” said one visitor. One of the busiest and most-frequented workers at the event was Claudia Jack, a Kiwanis volunteer and spokeswoman for the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association, who served as the festival’s “kite doctor” for the 17th straight year. Jack’s “kite hospital” was visited by children and adults, who sought her out for emergency kite-fixing magic. “Some [children] referred to me as the ‘kite nurse,’” laughed Jack. “Today I fixed over 100 hurt kites — mainly torn strings, ripped paper, stripped edges, things like that.” The imaginative range of kite designs posed some difficult decisions for the judges, who rendered several ties on the winning kites. About 30 volunteers from the Ocean Beach Kiwanis Club’s two youth service organizations — the Key Club, representing high schoolers; and Circle K, representing college-age students — helped the children assemble the kites and served on the judging panel. Lyric and John McCarthy, two of the 10 judges, said they enjoyed the 500-plus kites entered in the contest. For more information about the festival, call event chairwoman Melanie Nickel at (619) 225-8705 or Ocean Beach Kiwanis Club President Randy Windsor at (619) 823-0477. The Kiwanis Club meets on the first and third Mondays of the month at 6 p.m. at Nati’s Mexican Restaurant, located at the corner of Bacon Street and Niagara Avenue. KITE-DESIGN?WINNERS This year’s judging was split into three categories for each group between age three up to eighth grade. Here is a snapshot of the winners: 2ND GRADE • Best theme: Christian Bucsit • Best decorated: Allegra Bark • Most creative: Ava Bukowski 6th GRADE • Best theme: Spencer Olsen • Best decorated: Grace Rexroad/ Mark Ordonez (tie) • Most creative: Makaela Hashagen OPEN DIVISION/HIGH SCHOOL • Best theme: Ali Davis for “Alice In Wonderland” • Best decorated: Sahara Hawkins for “Dream Desire”