On January 14th, the skies of the city of Ahmedabad in Western India, were awash with brightly colored kites of all shapes and sizes, in celebration of the 18th Annual International Kite Festival.

Always held on January 14th, the festival coincides with Makar Sakranti, a celebration that marks the end of winter. While celebrated in most parts of India, the festival in Ahmedabad is the biggest and the most elaborate.

The festival draws kite lovers from all over the world who gather to display their unique kites and kite-flying skills. This year participants came from the USA, Indonesia , England , Brazil and Cambodia.

While kites are flown all day, the evenings is when the fun really begins. Entire families gather atop rooftops and attempt to try and 'cut' their neighbors kite strings. The normally bustling streets of the city are empty except for kite runners, who try and collect as many of the fallen kites as they can. It is estimated that each family goes through about a 100 kites during the day.

Each year, the kites get bigger and more elaborate . Floating in the skies this year, was a dragon, an owl and even a Barong mask kite from Bali, Indonesia. England's John Caton brought along with him a giant 5-meter long ring kite. While a struggle initially, the kite looked amazing once the winds lifted it up.

And if this is not fun enough, the kids also get to look forward to another tradition. At the end of the day, they receive rice crispy-like treats that have coins ranging from 10 paise to 1 rupee (Indian currency) hidden inside. While the money is exciting, it is more the suspense of what they will get after munching through their tasty treat that makes it even more fun. What a great tradition!

Sources:TimesofIndia, Nowpublic.com