A GIANT butterfly battled it out for attention in the sky, alongside a colourful dragon whose tail stretched up to the heavens - all part of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Other kites in the shape of hearts, seagulls, planes and the traditional diamond varieties also shared their moment in the sunshine, when dozens of families descended on Rawcliffe Country Park in York.

The event was staged by City of York Council's cultural diversity project, which had held four kite-making workshops for children the week before.

"They were all invited along to fly them," said event organiser Mary Bailey. "The turnout was absolutely fantastic. I am really pleased. It was great to have such a lovely day, even if the field was very boggy."

"The cultural diversity project works closely with the Chinese community, and we had a number of Chinese volunteers helping to make sure we were following the traditions."

Four-year-old Phoebe Rylatt, of Rawcliffe, York, who quickly mastered the art of kite flying, had come prepared for the mud underfoot by sporting daisy-covered plastic pink wellies.

Dad Trevor said: "There are all these fantastic kites crashing to the ground, and Phoebe's cost a couple of quid this morning and has stayed up for ages."

Lizzie Todd, eight, was proudly showing off her handmade kite, on which she had painted her name in Chinese after attending one of the workshops at the National Centre For Early Music in York.

Her father, Steve, said: "We normally fly kites on Knavesmire because we live on South Bank, but we have made a special trip here for this."

Malcolm Goodman, otherwise known as The Kite Man from County Durham, was showing off a number from his collection, including a nylon and bamboo colourful Chinese dragon from Singapore.

He said kite flying was considered to be a healthy past-time and symbolises an offering to the gods for many Chinese people.

Updated: 10:40 Tuesday, January 24, 2006