KORUS Festival returns to Annandale

A traditional Korean drumming group performs at the 2010 KORUS festival in front of the Annandale Kmart.

The KORUS Festival, a three-day community celebration of Korean culture, will be back at the Kmart parking lot in Annandale Sept. 22-24.

KORUS, organized by the Korean American Association of the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area, had been an annual event in Annandale for several years.
After Kmart refused to allow the 2011 festival on its property, charging the noise and traffic hurt business, KORUS moved to Fairfax Corners. It was held in Bull Run Regional Park for the next three years and was in Tysons Corner in 2015 and 2016.

The festival features singers, K-pop groups and a break dance team from Korea, other music and dance performances, a talent show, and a singing competition.

There will about 60 food stalls, another 60 or so booths promoting products and services from local businesses, and sales of beer and Korean rice wine, says Changyul Lee of the Korea Times, one of the event’s sponsors. Lee expects the event will draw 50,000 people from all over the D.C. region.

Korus will run 5-10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23, and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, on 4251 John Marr Drive.

Then in October, there will be another community festival – although not that huge – in central Annandale: The third annual Taste of Annandale is Oct. 14 on Tom Davis Drive.