Taste of Annandale draws a big crowd
Thousands of people came together on Sept. 21 to enjoy food and entertainment at the Taste of Annandale.
The event, held for the first time at the Eileen Garnett Civic Space on Columbia Pike, was a huge success.
We had 18 sponsors, eight food trucks, 29 other food vendors, and 45 non-food vendors (including businesses, nonprofits, advocacy organizations, and artists).
The Taste of Annandale wouldn’t have been possible without the 16 sponsors who supported the event, especially the Platinum sponsors: Scarlet Haven Residential Services, Westminster School, and the Virginia Players Alliance.
More than 60 volunteers ensured the event ran smoothly.
The entertainment included a lion dance, a breakdance/comedy act by Renato Alfaro, Fidgety Feet, two martial arts groups (Ka’s Karate and Taekwondo in Action), a Korean drum group from the JUB Korean Cultural Center, singer Orlando Azteca, an Indonesian music ensemble, the Potomac Chorus, Vietnamese dance by AnPhoGettable, several performances by International Dance, the Fraternidad Tinkus Bolivian dance group, and the King Bees rock band.
Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay, Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez, Del. Vivian Watts, and Grammy-winning educator Annie Ray from Annandale High School offered greetings to the crowd.
At least a dozen dogs – and one rabbit – participated in the Taste of Annandale pet parade and costume contest. The winning pets and their humans received gift cards and other prizes.
The Taste of Annandale 5K drew more than 150 runners and walkers, ages 9 to 75.
The overall winner was Evan Fallor of Arlington, with a clock time of 16:12:66. The second-fastest male was Julio Juarez, age 13, from Falls Church (17:58:84). Coming in third among male runners was William Keller of Charlottesville (19:34:76).
The top female racer, 12-year-old Andrea Giron of Falls Church, was the overall third-place winner with a clock time of 17:59:70. Lindsay Skolrood of Arlington was the second-fastest female, and Mikayla Stewart of Enterprise, Ala., came in third.
The ACCA Child Development Center hosted entertainment and STEM-related activities for young children, while volunteers from local high schools led crafts and games for older kids.
4 responses to “Taste of Annandale draws a big crowd”
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It was very well organized and presented. Perfect day weather wise. Not too crowded (11am to 1pm). We enjoyed the whole atmosphere. While it had tons of food choices, I think having more vendors and local crafts would enhance the festive feeling. Well done. Keep it up and let it grow.
I really enjoyed the event!😄🎈😍
The improved location at the civic space really made this year’s festival a success. It did not feel nearly as packed as the year prior and was much easier to move around. Kudos to the organizers! We’ll look forward to attending next year’s event.
I disagree — very disappointed with the layout and traffic flow … wildly over priced vendors and tremendous amount of trash in the entire surrounding area not the least of which was around the Giant lot … and the collection of guys at the homeless encampment directly across the street behind the gas station … it was really depressing… and what is that community center used for ? I saw nothing about their programming … drug rehab, job skill training, English classes, mental health counseling, social services, adult day care, small business incubation. Isn’t that what a community should be doing in an area on the verge of collapse. Instead we got terrible art, $25 hotdogs, trash and traffic jam or people and cars.