If you saw a huge octopus or dragon floating in the sky over Spanish Fork's east bench on Friday, don't panic -- they're guests.

To celebrate the state's first wind farm, now operating at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, the city is throwing a $40,000 bash this weekend. Called the Sky Spectacular, it is a combination kite festival, green living festival and celebration of wind power.

Kites filled the air at the city's Spanish Oaks Reservoir, including not only dozens made by children at a special workshop and the dragon and octopus, but also a so-called kite train, part of a professional acrobatic kite show. Pulled by jet skis, the kite train did regular shows around the reservoir on Friday as residents watched from bleachers. Sailing, diving, swooping and ripping through the air, the kite train -- a series of kites in a row --¬ looked like a choreographed show of ocean manta rays as it dipped its lengthy tails in the water and buzzed by the eager crowd.

Operators of the kite train, dragon and octopus also set up dozens of wind-driven banners and spinners, some almost two stories high, all over the festival grounds. Expert kite performers were flown in from Florida and California for the show.

Also very popular on Friday were the free Segway rides. Segway of Utah brought four or five of the machines to the festival and let anyone over 16 take them for a spin at no charge. Many first-time youth riders at the festival seemed to simply jump on and expertly ride off.

In addition to a temporary kite museum, the festival also boasted a display of huge hand-painted kites from around the world in shapes of lizards, raptors and dragons.

The Segways and painted kites were part of the "Go Green Expo" at the festival, a gathering of green businesses and organizations.

Kelly Reynolds of the Spanish Fork Planet Power Toys had a steady stream of people wanting to sit on one of three scooters he brought. Starting at $11,000, the scooters get between 70 and 90 miles to the gallon -- a fact that made a few ears perk up, he said.

Smart Car of Lindon also brought a blue compact two-seater for guests to sit in. The car gets between 33 and 41 miles to the gallon and also starts at $11,000 for a stripped-down model, said Brandon Ficklin, who also noted that compared to a scooter, the Smart Car worked great in winter too.

Steve Painter of West Mountain brought an actual backyard wind turbine. After opening his business a year and a half ago, he has sold about two dozen of them in Utah Valley, he said. The turbines cost about $12,000.

"I want one on my house," Ryan Robinson of Spanish Fork said when he stopped by with his wife, Rachel, and children to inspect the turbine.

Ryan Robinson is scheduled to demonstrate "full-contact combat" in the skies over the festival today, he said. He flies a remote-controlled airplane with a three-foot wingspan, and he and other hobbyists will "fight" their planes.

Paul and Richelle Thurston brought two of their children, ages 6 and 12, to the festival to make kites and to fly a higher-tech version the family bought earlier this year. The couple said they were drawn to the festival just "to see what they had," and said they were impressed enough to return next year.

There were a few bumps, however.

There were few kites for sale at the festival, and some families said they had waited more than an hour to get their children into the free kite-making workshop, only to give up after being told some of the expected volunteers had not shown up.

Dale Robinson, a festival organizer and parks and recreation director for the city, said the city had been surprised by the turnout on a Friday. Crowds were steady in the afternoon and increased in the evening.

"We've been pleasantly surprised because we've had quite a few people here for a workday afternoon," he said.

The city has raised $20,000 in sponsorships and donations to the festival and will pay another $20,000 or so from city coffers, he said. The hope is that in years to come the festival can become self-supporting. The city had originally budgeted $30,000 to spend on getting the festival up and running, and it was a positive sign that it appeared the festival would not need all that money because of the success of sponsorships, he said.

For a first-time festival, the event was certainly a success on its first day, and organizers were expecting even larger crowds today, he said.

If you go

The Spanish Fork Sky Spectacular begins at 9 a.m. today and ends at dusk. Kite shows and open kite flying will be featured all day. The remote-controlled airplane show will be from 1-3 p.m. A "Welcome to the Wind Farm" ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. For more information, visit SpanishFork.org.