Choi Daehyo, the mayor of Anyang, praised the Anyang Dance Festival on September 23, stating, "The festival has grown into a citizen-centric, participatory event."
He noted that over 160,000 visitors attended the '2026 Anyang Dance Festival,' held from September 18 to 20 at Pyeongchon Central Park and Samdeok Park.
Mayor Choi outlined plans to develop the festival into a cultural tourism event focused on citizen participation.
This year's festival emphasized programs that allowed citizens to engage directly and families to enjoy their time together.
The festival transitioned from a performance-centric model to a participatory and immersive cultural festival that combines dance, film, play, and hands-on experiences, according to Mayor Choi.
At the festival, citizen participation programs included random play dance and shuffle dance busking, attracting many families to the central fountain play zone.
The 'Dance Movie Day' at Samdeok Park and the movie zone at Pyeongchon Central Park featured programs that combined film and dance.
Competitions were also organized to encourage participation across generations.
In the 'Anyang Golden Dance Contest,' which featured amateur teams with an average age of over 50, the 'Assa Shuffle' team won the top prize. In the 'Anyang Crown Competition,' which included youth and 12 finalist teams, the 'Y' team emerged victorious.
Pyeongchon Central Park hosted a ceremony for Citizen's Day, featuring opening performances by artists such as Lim Chang-jung, Artemis, and Holibang. The closing day included a K-POP concert with performances by Bada, Triple S, Jadu, and Identity, along with a drone light show.
Samdeok Park also hosted the Anyang Citizen Song Festival, the Always Youth Concert, citizen performances, a flea market, a food fair, a friendly city market, and corporate exhibitions and experiences.
Festival attendees positively evaluated the opportunity to participate in various programs with their families.
One attendee remarked, "Not only could we watch performances, but we also enjoyed dancing and playing with our children all day at the festival." They added, "There were many programs for different age groups, making it great for families to come together."
Another attendee expressed satisfaction that middle-aged and older individuals could participate on stage and mingle with younger generations, stating, "I hope there will be even more programs for citizens to engage in directly."
Mayor Choi coordinated with police and fire departments to ensure safety, successfully concluding the festival without any incidents over the three days.
He expressed gratitude, saying, "Thank you to all citizens for becoming the protagonists of the festival, transcending generations and genres." He emphasized the commitment to develop the Anyang Dance Festival into a representative cultural tourism event for South Korea, based on the festival's achievements and citizen feedback.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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