There was still a bite in the air when community members began arriving at Whistler Park in Steamboat Springs early Monday morning to remember the day Israel was attacked and carry on a tradition based on the belief that peace is possible.

By the time the sun had climbed above Mount Werner , allowing the sun’s rays to reach the park, the group had grown to more than 65 men, women and children — all gathered to remember the day Hamas invaded Kfar Aza and the surrounding southern region of Israel.

Aviv Kutz, a resident of Kfar Aza who had lived in the U.S., initiated this tradition. Unfortunately, last year’s Kites for Hope was set for Oct. 7, 2023, but never occurred. A group of Hamas militants invaded the kibbutz that morning, killing 68 residents and kidnapping 18 others, ensuring no kites would be flown that day. Altogether, Israeli authorities say about 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7, 2023.

Tragically, Aviv along with his wife, Livnat, and their three children — Yonatan, Yiftach and Rotem — were found murdered in their home days after the attack. Just feet from Aviv’s body lay the peace kite he and his family had planned to fly.

Organizers said that Monday’s event was an attempt to carry on what the community members who lived in the kibbutz started after a wave of violence began in 2018 involving explosive kites sent from Gaza.

“We will be recreating this kite festival here in Routt County in memory of all that was lost on Oct. 7 including my dear friend Shahar ‘Izz’ Kadman,” said Rabbi Kolby Morris-Dahary prior to the event.

This year Steamboat Springs residents were invited to join Har Mishpacha, the Jewish congregation in Steamboat, along with the Steamboat Team to disrupt Antisemitism and Discrimination, the Steamboat Springs Police Department, Anti-Defamation League Mountain States, Exploring the Sacred and other local organizations for the kite-flying ceremony and to stand in solidarity with community members who are remembering the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.