WASHINGTON --March 21, 2003-- Free "flight-ready" kites will be given to the first 5,000 children who arrive at the Washington National Mall this Saturday for the 37th annual Smithsonian Kite Festival. The 3-foot kites, donated by lead festival sponsor SMART Papers, are believed to be the largest in number and size ever handed out at the popular D.C. event. In an exhibit celebrating the kite festival, 32 award-winning kites are on display now through March 31 at the Smithsonian's Arts & Industries Building. The kites, which feature unusual imagery, materials and construction, were created by U.S. graphic arts professionals and students participating in the SMART Papers Kite Design Contest. A prestigious panel of American design experts judged the contest last month. SMART Papers is treating the top 10 grand prize winners and their guests to round trip airfare, a private reception at the Smithsonian and five-star accommodations in Washington this weekend. They will be on hand at Saturday's kite festival. The winners are: Becky Brown of Palo Alto, CA; William E. Erdmann of University Park, IL; Douglas Homer of Downingtown, PA; Ann Huegelmeyer of Middletown, MD; Ross McClain and Matt West of Greenville, SC; Diane Meils of San Diego, CA; Karen Stevenson of Lyme, CT; Nathan D. Sullivan of Aloha, OR; Aaron Vargas of Oakland Park, FL; and Robert A. Yerks of Waitsfield, VT. More than 500 entries for the kite design contest were submitted. They were judged by some of the most prominent graphic design professionals in the U.S.: Milton Glaser of New York, Judy Kirpich of Alexandria, VA and Ann Willoughby of Kansas City, MO. SMART Papers is one of the largest privately owned printing paper manufacturers in the United States. It is based in Hamilton, Ohio, north of Cincinnati, and employs more than 400.