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WILMINGTON – Kite flyers from all over the country and even other parts of the world came out to Wrightsville Beach for the fourth annual Cape Fear Kite Festival.

David Gomberg and his wife Susan traveled in from Oregon and brought some huge kites with them, but this isn't the first sky these kites have soared. A passion for kite flying has taken the couple all over the world.

"We get to travel to Japan, Thailand, in Asia a number of difference places, Kuwait, Australia," said Susan Gomberg.

It's a hobby that David said is infectious.

"They all have one thing in common: it's that great, big, kite-flying grin spread across their face," said David Gomberg.

One visitor said he didn't know about the festival and woke up to a surprise outside his window.

"We woke up this morning, I looked out of the window and their was a 100-foot alligator flying outside my room. I had no idea. It's just great," said Ed McSpedon, of California.

"These are kites, but a lot of people look at them and think about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade because they are these big wind inflatables. The only difference is instead of being filled with gas, they are filled with wind," said David Gomberg.

Some of the kites at the festival cost more than $4,000.

"If you go fishing, you have to put gas in your boat every time. But the wind is free and we have a good time," said festival organizer Michael Agner.

There were 23 octopus kites out on the beach, and if kite enthusiasts can get at least 22 of those 23 up in the air, they will break the old world record of having 21 flying at one time.

"In the kiting world, everyone likes to break records, and it's just something fun to shoot for," said Agner.

The Cape Fear Kite Festival runs through Sunday at 5 p.m. The festival will take place again next year during the first weekend in November.