By Nathan Duke
The Korean Presbyterian Church of Bayside will host its third-annual food festival Sunday, Sept. 12, along 211th Street, where attendees will be able to sample traditional Korean cuisine and watch a variety of performances.
The festival will be held in front of the church, at 45-62 211th St. in Bayside, and is expected to draw as many as 1,500 northeast Queens residents.
“This is an event for the community and everything is for free,” said Han Kim, the church’s assistant pastor. “This year we are putting in more variety.”
Visitors will be able to try a sample plate of Korean food, including Korean barbecue, Korean pancakes, rice cakes, Japchae — a style of Korean noodle — fruits, refreshments, seasoned tacos, grilled corn, popcorn, marinated chicken drumsticks, cotton candy and deserts.
There will also be several children’s balloon rides as well as a decoration and craft event.
Performances at the festival will include a mime performance, a traditional Korean folk dance and percussion group, a contemporary band, a choir, an orchestra performance, a string quartet, a men’s ensemble group and a Taekwondo demonstration.
The city Police Department will hold a crime prevention event at which attendees will learn about VIN etching, a countermeasure to prevent auto theft by pasting a vehicle’s identification number onto its windshield and windows.
Children will also be able to obtain free identification cards during the festival.
The assistant pastor said the church spent as much as $20,000 to put the event together and hopes that it will become an annual celebration in Bayside.
“Last year, we served 1,500 people, but this year we expect to serve more,” Kim said.
Both Kim and David Lee Chong, the church’s senior pastor, will attend the festival.
The event will begin around 3:30 p.m. and will last through the early evening.
For more information, call the church at 718-229-0858.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
