Murray State University’s chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma (AMG), the national foreign language honors society, along with the Japanese Club, Department of Global Languages and Theatre Arts, International Student Organization and the Horticulture Club will host the annual Murray State Kite Festival and Plant Sale on Saturday, April 23, at the Murray State University Arboretum, 300 Hickory Drive in Murray, Kentucky. The Plant Sale is from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. and the Kite Festival is from 10 a.m. – noon.
“The International Kite Festival is a long-running Global Languages program event that we’re starting up again this year after a Covid hiatus,” said Erin Fairweather, a sophomore Spanish major and president of AMG. “We’re excited to partner with these other clubs and organizations to bring this event back. It’s a great chance for the community to experience different cultures from around the world, and it gives Murray State students a chance to impact and interact with the local community.”
Children attending the festival will receive a “passport” that they can get stamped at tables and booths around the Arboretum. Booths will have prizes, crafts and activities from a variety of countries.
“For example, at Japanese booths, kids will be able to have their name written in calligraphy and receive a fortune,” said Fairweather.
Lilli Hanik, a senior Japanese major and president of the Japanese Club, says another project that kids can participate in will be making paper cranes to send to a school in Ukraine.
“Paper cranes are a symbol of luck, but they are also a symbol of peace, specifically peace after war. We will have a booth at the event where people can donate a dollar and then make a crane. We plan to send the money and the cranes to a Japanese language school in Ukraine that was impacted by the war once it is safe to do so,” said Hanik.
Additionally, the organizations will host a booth where kids can color their own kite to fly, and prizes will be awarded to the three best kites.
“We are so excited to be able to host the event again this year and bring the world to Murray during a time when global travel is still difficult due to the pandemic,” said Fairweather.
The Horticulture Club will also be hosting a plant sale during the event. Plants for sale this year include Kimberly Queen potted ferns, hanging Boston ferns, hanging baskets and combination planters, geraniums and other assorted annual flowers, herb and herb bowls, large tomato plants, vegetable transplants and succulents.
For more information about the Kite Festival please contact the Department of Global Languages and Theatre Arts at 270-809-4522. For information about the plant sale please contact the Murray State Arboretum at 270-809-3841.
