(ABC 6 News) – Kites of all kinds returned to the skies of Clear Lake this weekend as the Color the Wind Kite Festival made its triumphant return in 2025.

The event was forced to stay grounded in 2024, due to this ice on the lake.

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“The economic impact is over $1,000,000. If you walked up and down Main Avenue, you would have seen that all of the restaurants were full. People were dining right here in Clear Lake,” explains Stacy Doughan of the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce and Tourism.

The festival is the largest of its kind throughout the entire Midwest and brings thousands of tourists to the city in what can be a difficult time to attack visitors.

“You know, the middle of February. It’s pretty quiet, [can be] be pretty dark, it’s pretty gray. And so to have the sky full of hundreds of bright, colorful kites and 10,000 people come into our community is really welcome to this time of year,” says Doughan.

Even with the snow, wind gusts and chilly temperatures, people of all ages were able to enjoy a winter wonderland complete with fun frolicking and, of course, high flying kites.

“We’ve seen lots of tropical fish, but I think I might have seen a walleye or a bass or something along those lines.”