This research is aimed to examine the repercussions of the global pandemic, which has imposed restrictions on social interactions and community engagements and indirectly impacted traditional Malayangan activities. The Rare Angon community vehemently opposes this state of affairs. In response, the innovative minds of the Rare Angon elites have proposed the concept of a Virtual Kite Festival, aiming to preserve the cultural significance of kite-flying amid the global pandemic in Denpasar City. This qualitative study adopts a cultural studies framework and employs a critical ethnography methodology. Data collection entails observation, interviews, and document analysis. Theoretical frameworks of Power Relations, Practice, and Symbolic Interaction are employed to analyze the studied issues. Data analysis is conducted employing a descriptive interpretive approach, critically depicting the observed phenomena. The study findings revealed that, within the socio-cultural context, the Rare Angon community demonstrates its capability to innovate by leveraging communication technology in accordance with the surrounding circumstances and environmental needs in order to sustain the existence of traditional Balinese kite-flying. The Virtual Kite Festival serves as both an economic-oriented endeavor and a means to seek legitimacy. The culture of the Virtual Kite Festival illustrates a new cultural construction within the kite-flying tradition amid the global pandemic, allowing it to evolve and be embraced by the Rare Angon community in Bali, particularly in Denpasar city.

Malayangan Tradition

Virtual Kite Festival

Global Pandemic