Winter Kite Festival to Kick Off North Liberty’s Beat the Bitter
North Liberty’s Beat the Bitter is taking winter fun to the sky with awe-inspiring mega kites to kick off the fourth year of the weeklong festival. The brand-new Wintry Warm UP presented by Collins Community Credit Union will draw North Liberty residents and visitors to Centennial Park, 1565 St. Andrews Drive, for an afternoon of free family fun from 12 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019.
Great American Kites & Events will launch some two dozen giant character kites—including the world’s largest windsock, towering up to three stories high and stretching 200 feet long—above the park’s frozen 40 acres for breathtaking views. Kite games will give attendees the chance to race against other competitors — and the wind — and collect goodies during candy drops throughout the event. Kite activities and the display are weather dependent.
“At Collins Community Credit Union, ‘community’ is in our name,” said Adam McAfee, Collins’ North Liberty branch manager. “We are committed to supporting the community and are proud to be the presenting sponsor of the new Wintry Warm UP event.”
Other programming includes horse-drawn trolley rides, a meet and greet with Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, a chainsaw carving demonstration, giveaways and activities hosted by Beat the Bitter sponsors and a polar plunge to support the North Liberty Police Department’s K9 unit.
North Liberty’s Beat the Bitter is an annual winter festival that challenges folks to get out of the house for winter games and good cheer on the bleakest days of the year. Taking place Jan. 27 through Feb. 2, 2019, the festival offers more than 30 individual events, including a concert in Penn Meadows Park, a full slate of winter games, outdoor ice skating, a winter fireworks display, and affiliated events hosted throughout the week. Some events require registration. Explore the full schedule and register at BeatTheBitter.com.
Beat the Bitter is organized by the North Liberty Community Betterment Group, a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Sponsors include GEICO, Scheels, Collins Community Credit Union, JCI Johnson County, University of Iowa Community Credit Union, Hills Bank, Think Iowa City, Diventures, South Slope Cooperative Communications, Junge Ford North Liberty, Big Grove Brewery, Z102.9, BDL Transportation, Unique Events and the City of North Liberty.
