The giant orange fish was as big as she was, but that didn’t stop Ashlee Tomblin from yanking it back and forth as the line went from taut to slack and back again.

Ashlee, 9, struggled to keep her kite, a fish called Nemo, from crashing into the ground at Hayden’s Kites for Kids Festival, held Saturday at Finucane Park.

Calie Tomblin, Ashlee’s mother, grew up in Seattle where she developed a love for kite flying, which she has passed on to her four children. “My mom would sit and watch us fly our kites for hours,” Tomblin said.

The steady drizzle didn’t seem to faze the 50 or more children and parents who participated in the event. Saturday’s light wind made it a challenge for the heftier kites to stay in the air. The lighter, old-fashioned kites seemed to fare best.

Shyan Jones, 12, designed and built her own kite at a workshop sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America on Saturday morning before the event.

“It really wasn’t that hard to make one. It just takes sticks, glue and paper,” Shyan said. She brought a store-bought kite for backup, just in case. “I just really like being outside, so this is fun,” Shyan said.

Hayden resident Gary Fleschman-Kubodera, came up with the idea of a kite festival. He worked with Kevin Clement, director of Hayden’s Department of Public Works and volunteers from the city’s staff to plan the event.

“The idea is to develop community events that are great for kids and families,” Clement said.

All the participants received a certificate.

Kite awards were presented for the largest, smallest, best built, most interesting tail, most interesting building materials, the “one that got away,” and the kamikaze – in honor of the kite with the most spectacular crash.

Clement said the festival will become an annual event, scheduled for the last Saturday in March. Next year’s festival will be held at Broadmoore Park in Hayden, where kite fans will have 10 acres of open park land to fly their creations.