National Cherry Blossom Festival Kicks off Spring in Washington DC

Posted by Abbott Klar Real Estate on Sunday, March 8th, 2015 at 9:03am

National Cherry Blossom Festival Kicks Off Spring in DC

This year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off on March 21st marking the first day of spring. The event runs to Sunday, April 12th, 2015. In support of the environment, this year’s festival will emphasize green spaces, trees and gardens. Over the course of the festival’s five weeks, each weekend a different family friendly event takes place to celebrate the long awaited arrival of spring.
Cherry Blossoms Washington DC

The trees origins are actually part of DC’s rich diplomatic history. They were a gift from the Japanese to honor the friendship between the two nations. The first batch of trees arrived in 1910 diseased and had to be destroyed. In 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo successfully sent a second batch of 3000 healthy cherry trees. First Lady Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees in a ceremony. The remaining trees were planted along the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. In 1915, the US government reciprocated with a gift of dogwood trees.

Festivities around the cherry blossoms began in 1927 when a group of school children re-enacted the first planting of the trees. The first “Cherry Blossom Festival” was held almost ten years later in 1935 when a number of civic groups got together and sponsored the event. The festival was suspended during WWII after several trees were cut down in retaliation for Pearl Harbor. The festival resumed after the war ended in 1947. The following year, in 1948, the tradition of selecting a Cherry Blossom Queen to reign over the festival began.
Cherry Blossoms Washington DC

Over the last 80 years, the Cherry Blossom Festival has grown from a single event into a five-week national celebration that welcomes over 1.5 million visitors to the Tidal Basin. The annual festival attracts tourists from around the country, and even internationally, to see the beautiful pink and white blossoms along the Potomac. Out of the initial 12 varieties of trees that were donated by the Japanese, the Yoshino and Kwanzan now dominate. Interspersed among them is the Weeping Cherry.
Washington monument Cherry Blossoms

Here’s a run down of this year’s schedule of events:

  • Saturday, March 21st The Opening Ceremony
  • Saturday, March 28th the Blossom Kite Festival
  • Saturday, April 4th Southwest Waterfront Fireworks Festival
  • Saturday, April 11th National Cherry Blossom Festival
  • Saturday, April 11th Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival
Tidal Basin Cherry Blossoms

This year’s event also includes a special exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum celebrating Japanese art and culture. All the events are family friendly, and as the weather warms up, the Tidal Basin is a favorite hang out spot for locals. Joggers, bikers, walkers, sunbathers and picnickers gather along the banks of the Potomac under the blossoming trees once the Cherry Blossom Festival arrives marking the long awaited official start of spring.

Written by 422 Creative.
Pictures by SellingDC.com

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