Friendship Festival 2010

The International Friendship Festival in Sunderland is a visually stunning event held annually in Usworth’s Northern Area Playing Fields. Organised by Sunderland City Council, entry is free. Initially branded the Sunderland Kite Festival, many professional kite artists travel from far and wide to debut their beautiful creations. These contraptions are not only a celebration of beauty but also feats of engineering, paying homage to scientific ingenuity. The variation in design is incredible.

Walking around it felt like I’d stumbled into the mind of Salvador Dali. On one side of me a giant, translucent teddy bear was coasting effortlessly through the sky and on the other, a pair of disembodied legs collided into the ground. The commentator insisted it was organised chaos, but even in the disarray of entangled strings and disgruntled fliers, the display was undoubtedly beautiful. One kite deemed “the spirit” was barely distinguishable against the white clouds. It floated like a ghost between whimsical English sailors and delicately constructed coloured sheets like fragile pieces of stain glass. The festival itself could be described as one large, interactive art installation. It encapsulates a playful sensibility; children and adults alike are mesmerized, staring into the sky in on a clear, sunny day.

Caught up in the moment, I tried to fly my own kite and failed miserably. My red summer bird refused vehemently to join the rest of its companions in the sky. A little girl (with the same kite) looked at me with relative pity as hers circled above my head, taunting me. In one final attempt, I decided that the best tactic was to run as fast as possible to built up momentum. After accosting some poor innocent and horrified onlookers, I decided that there was a definite art to this, one that I didn’t posses and so reluctantly rolled up the string of my sorry kite-flying career.

It seems to me that whilst deemed an international festival, aspects of this day were quintessentially British. There were several food stalls and with them, that familiar smell fish and chips drowning in vats of vinegar and crystals of salt.

Fairground rides provided a garish background whir as parents wielded a child in one hand and a kite in the other.

Some stalls were dedicated to local craft companies and others to children’s activities. A huge part of this festival was promoting a summer reading challenge or ‘space hop’, handing out free books to children and encouraging them to visit their local libraries over the summer. There is a music tent too and although I didn’t venture inside, I heard various adaptations of modern classics, a brass band version of something by Beyonce and a local MC. The atmosphere was nothing short of vibrant and there was an undeniable sense of community there.

In some respects the kites were not the spectacle but the spectators themselves. In a modern Britain, where people are generally reluctant to talk to their next-door neighbours, it was comforting to see strangers chatting to each other. I brought my camera and found myself drawn to the subjects on the ground, each of them engaged and mesmerized. As a student I understand the itch to travel and I also understand the problems in funding this itch. I think it is important to support the culture on our doorstep, especially if it’s free. This festival was a little, rare and unusual bubble of peace in what would have otherwise been a hectic and mundane Saturday.

Text: Lauren Stafford