Organizers of the National Cherry Blossom Festival have predicted that the District of Columbia’s iconic cherry blossom trees will reach peak bloom between March 14 and 17 — their earliest ever peak event.
Festival coordinators announced Wednesday the annual monthlong celebration will begin March 15 — five days earlier than planned — to coincide with the peak bloom period.
The trees are in “peak bloom” when 70 percent of the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin have flowered. Last year, the blossoms hit their peak around March 25, one week ahead of the average date.
Now in its 90th year, the annual event commemorates the friendship between the United States and Japan, which gifted 3,000 Yoshino cherry trees to the U.S. in 1912.
“This National Cherry Blossom Festival is the biggest, greatest, most fun celebration of U.S.-Japan friendship anywhere in the world,” Japanese Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae said during Wednesday’s press conference at the Newseum. “I don’t need to say, ’Make this cherry blossom festival great again,’ because it’s already great.”
Predicting when the trees will blossom is always tricky: National Park Service officials recalculated their peak bloom projections just hours before announcing the dates.
In past years, the festival has had to reschedule events to accommodate earlier-than-expected blooms, but none of this year’s events will be changed.
“Who’s not ready for early spring in the nation’s capital?” said Gay Vietzke, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. “We’ve got a full month of flowers and festivities to look forward to.”
Regardless of when the picturesque trees peak, the festival typically attracts more than 1.5 million visitors to the District and provides a significant economic impact for the city, according to Elliott Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination D.C., a nonprofit that boosts tourism to the nation’s capital.
“The thing that I love the most about the festival is that far beyond the peak dates of the bloom, the festival is ongoing,” Mr. Ferguson said. “It’s a way to engage and bring people to Washington to learn more about our rich culture, and of course, the incredible gift of the Japanese.”
Festival President Diana Mayhew said Metro “is still a good option” for those traveling to festival events, because most track work will be put on hold during the peak bloom period.
Dozens of celebratory activities are scheduled between March 15 and April 16, including a parade, kite festival and fireworks display.
Several Smithsonian museums are featuring special exhibits during the festival, including the popular “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors” exhibit at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and “Inventing Utamaro: A Japanese Masterpiece Rediscovered” at the Freer and Sackler galleries.
More than 40 D.C.-area restaurants will join the fanfare, serving “spring- and blossom-inspired” dishes and cocktails for the duration of the month.
“The festival’s job always is to continue celebration beyond the blooms and beyond the Tidal Basin,” said Ms. Mayhew. “This year will happen to be four weeks beyond all of that.”
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