By CLAYTON PARK

Kite enthusiasts from throughout the city and beyond will descend on Golden Gardens on Sunday, June 20 to participate in the 11th annual Seattle Kite Festival.

The free-admission event, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature kites of every type imaginable, and kite fliers of all skill levels, from amateur to advanced. Demonstrations of the latest kites, including "sport" and "fighter" kites, will be held, as well as a booth where the public is invited to make kites of their own.

One of the highlights of the festival will be a Rokkaku Battle, which pits representatives of the various kite shops in town against each other in a test of their kite-flying skills by maneuvering their kites to knock other contestants' kites out of the air. The sporting "battle" was first conducted many decades ago by two neighboring towns in Japan.

The festival will culminate with an event called a "Mass Ascension," in which hundreds of people will gather to fly special commemorative Seattle Kite Festival 1999 kites in unison. The limited edition Festival kites - durable, six-foot-long, multi-colored mylar "octopus" kites - will be sold in advance of the event at participating kite shops around town as well as at Golden Gardens during the event for a $7 donation that will benefit the Boyer Children's Clinic.

"It's the most amazing feeling when you're flying the same kite as everyone else and knowing that you're also doing it for a good cause," says Seattle Kite Festival organizer Kathy Goodwind. "It's like going to church, almost! It gives you a feeling of participation ... Also, if everyone's flying the same kite, people (who are less experienced in kite-flying) won't feel so intimidated."

In addition to promoting the sport of kite-flying, Goodwind says the festival serves as a benefit fund-raiser for various charitable causes.

This year, the recipient is the Boyer Children's Clinic, whom Goodwind says approached her, seeking to be connected with an event that could "involve the whole family."

The Boyer Children's Clinic is a non-profit therapy and early childhood educational facility. Under the medical direction of a developmental pediatrician, the clinic serves children from birth to teen years who have neuromuscular disorders such as cerebral palsy or delay in development. Services are provided by a multi-disciplinary team including a developmental pediatrician, nurse, speech pathologist, occupational and physical therapists, educators and a social worker. The team works closely with the family to conduct initial diagnostic assessments and plan and implement individual programs.

Goodwind said the goal for this year's festival is to raise at least $3,000 to benefit the Boyer Children's Clinic.

An extra note of interest to this year's festival will be its connection to the Kite and Bike Dream Tour 1999, a tour of kite festivals around the world being conducted by German kite enthusiast J.J. Topfer. Topfer is chronicling his sojourns for various leisure and travel magazines, with a helping hand from Harley Davidson, which has donated two test bikes to be used during the tour. Topfer is scheduled to make an appearance at the Seattle Kite Festival, where he will give a demonstration of a sport kite designed by German kite-maker Martin Schob, who is also slated to attend the festival.

The event will include on-site food vendors, and the festivities will be broadcast live by Disney Radio AM 1250.

The Seattle Kite Festival was started 11 years ago by Goodwind, who owns Gas Works Kite Shop in Wallingford. "I figured Seattle needed a kite festival," she says. "We're trying to raise interest in kite-flying as a relaxing past-time ... We'd like to get families, both children and adults, interested in the simplicity of kite-flying."

The festival is "a great time to have a party - with kites," she says.

Goodwind held the first-ever kite festival at Magnuson Park. It only drew 50 people. The next year, she enlisted the help of several other kite shops in town, which resulted in a doubling in attendance. "It's grown exponentially ever since," she says. Two years ago, the festival drew close to 5,000 people - its largest-ever turnout.

Goodwind says she now tries to hold the festival in a different location every year. Last year, the event was held at Gas Works Park.

This year's festival schedule is as follows: 11 a.m., Welcome and Parade of Kites; 11:30 a.m., Sport Kite Demonstrations; 12:30 p.m., Fighter Kite Demonstrations; 1 p.m., Mass Ascension; 2 p.m., Rokkaku Battle Demonstration; 3 p.m., Demonstration arena; 4 p.m., Finale.

The Seattle Kite Festival's sponsors this year include: Gas Works Kite Shop, Goodwind's Kites, Great Winds Kites, Prism Designs Inc., Four Winds Kite Shop, Main Frame Kite Shop, Cutting Edge Kites, J.J. Topfer Kite and Bike Tour, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Debbie Gianelli and the Kite Trade Association International.

Special thanks also goes to Disney Radio AM 1250 for its support and Thompson Printing for making a generous contribution to the event.

For more information about the Seattle Kite Festival, call the Gas Works Kite Shop at 633-4780.