Street party to celebrate City’s new Kite Flyer
A big street party will be held in Parchment Street, Winchester on 13 June to celebrate the official launch of the Kite Flyer – Winchester’s latest public art feature.
Members of the public are invited to come along and enjoy live music and food from 11am until 5pm. The new Mayor of Winchester (Cllr Dominic Hiscock), sculptor Marzia Colonna, project team members, traders, and residents will all be in attendance.
Popular local band Red Jackson will provide the musical entertainment whilst food will be served by Parchment Street’s eateries, Cafe Centro, Pottery Café and the Gurkha Kitchen.
As well as all the fun on the day, local children will be making kites at workshops being run by the Colour Factory at St Bedes School in early June. There will also be a workshop at the Business Centre in Parchment Street on 6 June where Winchester artist, Soesen, will be running a free drop-in workshop from 10am until 3pm for children aged 5+ and their families.
The Mayor will be awarding prizes for the most colourful and imaginative kites during the launch party on 13 June.
The Kite Flyer commission came in response to Parchment Street businesses’ quest to attract more people to explore and appreciate the street’s enticing range of independent shops, restaurants and cafes.
The Kite Flyer is a bronze figure of a boy joyfully flying a gilded kite and walking over a bridge which spans Parchment Street at a height of nearly 6 metres. The bridge, constructed by Denmead’s Metal Art Design foundry in the Winchester District, incorporates two more kites and playful ‘strings’ tangle themselves around the steel structure.
Winchester City Council, with partnership funding from the Business Improvement District (
Marzia - originally from Italy and now living in Dorset - is an Associate Member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors. She said: “How can we not love kites? To me, flying a kite represents “time out”. It is a wonderful way to engage with nature while allowing the mind to wander freely; it is a personal experience but also a shared one as onlookers can derive pleasure from it.
Marilyn Michalowicz, Winchester’s Arts Development Officer added: “On 13 June, the street will be a place to come and enjoy music and something to eat, to see local children’s kites displayed in the shop windows, and to hear Marzia and the Mayor speak. The Kite Flyer has been well received by local people who have instantly responded to its elegance and playfulness. An uplifting work of art in more ways than one, I think it will bring pleasure to residents and visitors for many years to come, and will help to put Parchment Street on the map where it belongs.”