Extras

“ANIMALDALE”

For the first time, the 2025 Taste of Annandale had a petting zoo, which we named “Animaldale.” The animals, from Squeals on Wheels, featured two alpacas, a goat, rabbits, a chicken, a couple of ducks, a turtle, and guinea pigs.

EATING CONTEST

Another Taste of Annandale first was the Eating contest, which drew 15 competitors.

The winner, James Clark, demolished a Vietnamese bahn mi sandwich in record time, taking home a trophy and a $100 prize. Alex Tran came in second, winning $50 and a trophy.

The Eating Contest was sponsored by the Asian American Community Center in Annandale, the Pho 72 restaurant, and the Viet American Association. Del. Marcus Simon handed out the trophies. Members of the Vietnamese Student Association volunteered and competed.

PET CONTEST

Jamie DeSimone, a realtor with the Homes for All Real Estate Team at Keller Williams Capital Properties, organized the Pet Parade and Costume Contest.

Henry Ho’s dogs, Odin and Kiki, snagged the Best in Show award. Regan Dahlberg’s dog, Lucy, nailed the Funniest category while dressed as a chicken, while Nadina Nasr and Leo, an American cocker spaniel, took home the prize for Best Human-Pet duo.

The Pet Contest winners took home gift cards from Paw Mind Body (vendor at the Taste of Annandale), the Lake Barcroft Dental Group, and Jamie DeSimone.

CHILI COOK-OFF

The chili cook-off, a regular feature at the Taste of Annandale pits the Mason Police District against the Annandale Volunteer Fire Department. Festival-goers tried samples from both competitors and voted for their favorites. When the last drops of chili were consumed, the firefighters were declared the winners.

CARNIVAL GAMES

The Annandale High School PTSA hosted a carnival game arcade with football toss, basketball toss, ring toss, skee ball, ping pong fishing, and more – with prizes.

The PTSA sold spirit wear at the event to raise money for an Annandale Atoms mascot costume.

COMMUNITY ART PROJECT

Community Art For Everyone’s communal art project at the Taste of Annandale was a large painting on the theme “Inside the Home.” Festival-goes contributed their vision of what they would like in their “home,” as a broadly defined space.

“The goal of the project is to foster connection, creativity, and a positive community culture,” said CAFE President Hannah Joo. “By coming together to create art, participants transformed a blank canvas into a vibrant expression of community values, dreams, and hopes.”