Last week, I had the chance to experience a weekend during the National Cherry Blossom Festival (NCBF) in Washington D.C. The city was a buzz and adorned in pink petals and gorgeous, warm weather. The cherry blossoms were at peak bloom on April 5th, which means that about 70% of the Yoshino cherry trees were in full bloom around the Tidal Basin. There are varieties of cherry blossom trees all over the world include New Zealand, Germany and Brazil; however, people travel from near and far to see the blossoms bloom in D.C.
For those who don’t know, the NCBF celebrates the arrival of the Japanese cherry trees from Tokyo. Back in 1912, Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki gifted over 3,000 cherry trees to the city of Washington D.C. as a sign of the growing friendship between the two nations. The first shipment of 2,000 trees had arrived diseased in 1910. Both countries got together and coordinated the next shipment. This included help from chemist Dr. Jokichi, First Lady Helen Taft, board member Eliza Scidmore of the National Geographic Society and Dr. David Fairchild from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. First Lady Taft and Viscountess Chinda (wife of the Japanese ambassador) planted the first two trees along the north bank of the Tidal Basin. Japan also gifted about 2,500 tree to New York City, but that’s a story for another time.
This year the festival lasted for 4 weeks and kicked off with a Pink Tie Party fundraiser for the NCBF, Inc. non-profit. The other events include the Sakura Dream digital art experience, CineMatsuri, Cherry Blossom Cruises, a daytime Rosé social, the annual Cherry Blossom Parade and Sakura Matsuri Japanese street festival. The parade ran down Constitution Ave starting in front of the National Archives building to 15th street. There were fun floats, large balloons of notable characters, Carla Hall as the Parade Grand Marshal and performances by Silentó, Billy Gilman, Summer the “Sing into Spring” winner, taiko drummers & dancers from Tamagawa University, and high school marching bands from around the country. Who doesn’t love a great marching band performance! The Japanese street festival started right after the parade and for $10 you could view even more performances, purchase Japanese goods, try on kimonos, learn how to write your name in Japanese characters, and even enjoy some delicious Japanese cuisine. No surprise that the mochi ice cream went quickly on that sunny day.
If you want to experience the National Cherry Blossom Festival, but aren’t sure when to go, you can visit the Cherry Blossom Watch or the Bloom Watch page on the NCBF site. You can research when the peak blooms happened within the past few years, and read updates on the current status of the cherry trees. The Tidal Basin is a great place to view the blossoms and tour a ton of monuments along the way. However, it’s not the only area that the cherry trees have been planted. You can view some in front of the White House, in Lafayette Square, around the Washington Monument and the US Capitol.
Don’t forget to grab some cherry blossom souvenirs and try some limited edition National Cherry Blossom Farmhouse Cherry Ale beer before you leave. What’s you favorite part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival?
Interesting Fact: “Sakura” translates to cherry blossom and “Matsuri” translates to festival in Japanese.
