Go fly a kite, and we mean that with the kindest regards.
This month sees the return of Heartwood Preserve’s second annual Kite Festival, where experts and amateurs come together to put on a show in the sky. The event is scheduled for Oct. 17-18 at Heartwood Park in west Omaha, noon to 5 p.m. on each day.
Great American Kites & Events, which owns and operates some of the largest show kites in North America, hosted the inaugural Kite Festival at Heartwood Park in 2025. Beyond showing its own wondrous flyers, the company will also bring pros to host workshops and provide kite-flying tips with attendees, who are encouraged to bring their own kites or buy a new one on-site.
The event is free, with plenty of food and family-friendly activities available throughout each afternoon. Of course, all kite activities depend on the weather and wind.
Great American Kites is hosting around 27 events across nine states this year, according to its website, displaying more than 80 show kites including Old Glory, billed as the largest kite in America and at one point the largest in the world.
Joe Beaver, the company’s chief operating officer, told Nebraska Public Media that his team will bring kites ranging from 5 to100 feet long to the festival in Heartwood, adding that last year’s event was one of the best the company hosted in 2025.
“The Omaha community was one that stuck out to us out of the 40 different events we had last year,” he said. “Just the community engagement, people really enjoying the community and being out with each other, stuck out a lot to us.”
Heartwood Preserve, developed by Omaha-based risk-services firm Applied Underwriters Inc., opened in west Omaha in 2019 as a 500-acre mixed-use urban development with roughly 80 acres of green space; 8 miles of bike paths and trails; and a range of retail, office, dining, and other establishments.
Heartwood Park hosts a multitude of free events throughout the year, including outdoor ice skating in the winter, the Beats & Bites Farmers Market, Kids Club, Summer Saturdays, live concerts, the Nebraska Snow Sculpting Championships, and this weekend’s Kite Festival.
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