Taste of Annandale will have full day of children’s entertainment

The Paw Patrol characters at the 2017 Taste of Annandale.

Children should have a fun time at the Taste of Annandale, as the ACCA Child Development Center (CDC) is planning a full slate of entertainment for them.

The “Paw Patrol” characters, a big hit last year, will be back, and there also will be costumed superhero characters from the Avengers series, says CDC Executive Director Maria-Isabel Ballivian.

Mr. Gabe and band members.

Mr. Gabe and the Circle Time All-Stars will entertain the young ones with a mix of traditional songs and modern favorites. Their 2015 CD, “Metro Train,” won a Parents’ Choice Recommended Award.

The children’s program will also include a couple of puppet shows from Dinorock Productions; a performance with characters from “Coco”; and vision screening and health-related activities led by nursing students from Northern Virginia Community College.

Deputies from the Fairfax County Office of the Sheriff will be at the CDC with the child ID program, and additional activities will be scheduled.

The CDC is at 7200 Columbia Pike, across the street from the main action at the Taste of Annandale. The “Taste” is a community street festival, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with a 5K, food trucks, beer, music and dance, a pet contest, chili cook-off, and vendors.

CDC staff will be available to conduct tours of the early childhood learning center, as there are openings for 3 and 4-year-olds. The additional space that has recently become available in the building means there is room for another classroom, as well as parenting classes and professional development with videoconferencing equipment.

In November the large building blocks available for imaginative play at the National Building Museum in D.C. will be relocated to the CDC.

In a related Taste of Annandale event, the Fairfax County Communities of Trust Committee is bringing a police helicopter and other vehicles that children can explore.

The Annandale Volunteer Fire Department, which is next to the CDC, is hosting an Open House on Oct. 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., giving children a chance to climb inside a fire truck and ambulance.