Fairfax County Kimchi Festival 2026

Fairfax County and the K-Kimchi World Solidarity Washington, DC Committee are listing the 2026 Fairfax County Kimchi Festival for Saturday, November 7, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. on the flyer. Admission is free. Voluntary donations at the reception desk support future festivals. Parking is listed as free.

November 7 is the day before Diwali in 2026. That timing matters for DMV weekend math. October's Heritage India expo is already over. This is a shorter Korean civic-hall afternoon, not a two-day bazaar and not a Columbia Pike night market.

The dated public block is the 1-to-4 festival. The kimchi workshop is capped: the first 300 registered guests ages 10 and up who pick up a raffle ticket at reception get into the workshop. Everyone else can still enter for general admission, traditional games, hanbok try-ons with Polaroid keepsakes, Korean calligraphy name writing, paper folding, and cultural performances. Food tasting after the workshop is listed as gimbap, bulgogi, japchae, kimchi pancakes, and kimchi dumplings.

Former Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan is billed for a kimchi-making demonstration. The flyer also teases a Charlie the Tuna photo stop, Mason Korea bandanas, StarKist tuna pouches, and Korean snacks from the Korea Agro-Trade Center. Treat those as flyer-side giveaways, not a ticket upsell. Register on Eventbrite if you want the workshop raffle path; walk-up general admission is still allowed without that ticket.

K-Kimchi World Solidarity's Washington committee frames the day around Kimchi Day, marked on the flyer as November 22. The Fairfax date is the county partnership afternoon ahead of that calendar marker. Organizers listed on the poster include the Korean American Next Generation Council and partner chapters alongside Fairfax County branding.

Government Center Parkway is the county complex west of Fairfax City, not Annandale's Pike lot and not One Loudoun. The flyer puts the festival in the Government Center itself, so plan for indoor civic-hall circulation rather than a tent grid. Arrive for the 12:30 door if you want reception tickets before the workshop queue moves. Three hours is the whole public card. Contact lines on the poster go through kkimchiwashingtondc.org and the committee email if you need an accessibility or vendor question answered before Saturday.

Who this is for: Fairfax families who want kimchi, hanbok photos, and a civic lobby afternoon. Skip it if you needed a night market. Annandale's Halloween date is already past.

Our take: 12:30 if the workshop raffle matters. 1:00 if you only want the tasting and performances. Do not invent a ticket price. The door is free.

When: November 7, 2026 (1–4 p.m.; doors 12:30)
Where: Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Pkwy, Fairfax, VA 22035

Listing on Eventbrite.