The Taste of Annandale is Saturday – here’s what you need to know

The Taste of Annandale is just two days away! The best community festival in Mason District is this Saturday, April 29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. along Tom Davis Drive.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The festival will be held rain or shine.

• The children’s activities and performances will be indoors at the ACCA Child Development Center at 7200 Columbia Pike.

• Parking for the festival is available at Giant, the K Market lot, the Annandale fire station, other lots, and on the street.

• The Taste of Annandale 5K starts in the parking lot at the K Market at 4239 John Marr Drive. On-site registration and bib pickup will be available starting at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. Awards will be handed out at 10:30 on the stage.

• Onsite registration for the pet contest will be available beginning at 10 a.m. If you haven’t dressed up your pet yet, no worries. The Chico’s Natural Pet Market will have costumes and ideas. The pet contest is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

• 92 Chicken on Tom Davis Drive has graciously let Taste of Annandale guests use their restrooms.

• Caboose Brewing will sell four of its most popular beers: Boxcar Brown Ale, Das Gute German Pilsner, Cold Train Strawberry Guava Sour Ale, and Surfliner West Coast IPA. Unlike the 2019 festival, beer drinkers will not be confined to a fenced-in area.

• The chili cookoff will be at 1 p.m. Will the Mason Police Station or the Annandale Volunteer Fire Department win the trophy? Vote for your favorite.

• As it’s an election year, we’re expecting a fair number of candidates and elected officials. Board of Supervisors Chair Jeffrey McKay, Mason Supervisor Penny Gross, and Del. Vivian Watts will deliver brief remarks.

• Annandale Today is holding a drawing for a basket full of items sold in Annandale stores. To enter all you have to do is fill out a one-page survey. RAMP Optimal Performance & Wellness is hosting a raffle for a shirt signed by soccer great Wayne Rooney, and the Bailey’s Crossroads Rotary Club is holding a raffle for a 1966 Mustang.

• The police helicopter is undergoing repairs, so it won’t be available for the Taste of Annandale. We will have the fire department’s canteen and police motorcycle for kids to explore.

• Most of the participating food purveyors, businesses, and organizations are listed on the Taste of Annandale website – but we are still processing submissions.