A poster of the 2016 Yeongdong Grape Festival, to be held at the Yeongdong Gymnaisum area from Aug. 25 to 28.

The 2016 Yeongdong Grape Festival will take place at the Yeongdong Gymnasium area in Yeongdong, Chungcheongbuk-do, from Aug. 25 to Aug. 28. The festival will cost 510 million won, 50 million won from the provincial government and 460 million won from county authorities. It will be held under the catchphrase “Healing of Our Family with Grapes from Yeongdong.”

Yeongdong, located at the center of the nation, and in the southernmost part of Chungcheongbuk-do, is one of the largest producers of grapes in Korea. Every year, in celebration of its top crop, Yeongdong hosts the grape festival in which family members enjoy a memorable experience of picking up grapes from vineyards and bringing with them a selection out of a pool while smelling the fragrance of grapes. Yeongdong County authorities aim to evolve the exotic festival into one of the nation’s best fests.   

Like last year, two sales booths — one for publicizing grape and other fruits from Yeongdong and the other from agricultural produce and processed items from other country areas — will be installed during the 2016 Yeongdong Grape Festival. Grapes will be sold at wholesale prices of the Garak-dong Agricultural Market in Seoul or at retail prices 20 percent to 30 percent cheaper than normal.

Visitors will be given a chance to enjoy a variety of events, including an experience of trampling grapes, at the festival site, that will give them exotic memories and charming experiences. Games involving playing in the water will also be ramped up to beat the heat during the festival.

A couple demonstrate dancing skills as thousands of tourists look on at an event of the 2015 Yeongdong Grape Festival.

Some events include an opening-ceremony program, the National Yeongdong Grape Marathon Competition, and the Chupungnyeong Song Festival. 

Vineyards in the Yeongdong area, the nation’s sole “special zone” for the grape and wine industries, covers 1,800 ha, accounting for about 10 percent of the nation’s aggregate vinery area. 

The 2015 Yeongdong Grape Festival attracted about 165,000 tourists. Grapes and other agricultural produce worth 1.75 billion were sold during the festival.