Block Party draws a crowd to Annandale

A Block Party food festival/night market drew people from all over the D.C. region to the EastGate Shopping Center parking lot on June 3.

The Block Party was sponsored by The Block Foodhall and hypefoodies, a concept created by Cham Keat (CK) and Diana Nguyen. They interview small or unusual food purveyors throughout the area and have 86,800 followers on Instagram.

CK and Diana are both children of refugees – his parents are from Cambodia, and hers are from Vietnam – so they often weave that experience into their work on hypefoodies.

Related story: The Taste of Annandale brings the community together for food and fun

The food at the Block Party skewed Asian, ranging from pho to Japanese waffles, from banh mi to Chinese meat buns. There were also burgers, tacos, and Cajun seafood.

The Taco SSam restaurant and The Block – from the shopping center on John Marr Drive – were there but many of the food vendors had an online-only business. There were also vendors selling anime-related and other items.

Performances included the Cambodian Celestial Dance Group, Hung Si Lion Dance, a hip-hop dance battle, and DJs. After the event closed at 10 p.m., there was an afterparty inside The Block.

The Block Party was sort of like a mini-Taste of Annandale. However, unlike the Taste of Annandale, which was free, the Block Party had a $5 admission fee and there was a long line to get in.