If Hurricane Sandy got you thinking about spring, then listen up: just days before the hybrid hurricane-nor’easter hit, the National Cherry Blossom Festival held its 2013 Launch at The Hamilton (600 14th Street), and already beautiful thoughts and images of spring are dancing through our heads! No wonder. The nation’s greatest springtime celebration will bring more than three weeks and four anchoring weekends of spectacular events featuring traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty, and a whole lot of community spirit from Wednesday, March 20 to Sunday, April 14.
So mark your calendar and plan to attend the following 2013 signature events: the Pink Tie Party in mid-March; the Opening Ceremony taking place for the first time at the Warner Theatre (513 13th Street) on Saturday, March 23rd; Family Days at the National Building Museum (401 F Street) on Saturday, March 23rd and Sunday, March 24th; the Blossom Kite Festival on the National Mall on Saturday, March 30th; the Southwest Waterfront Fireworks Festival on Saturday, April 6th; and, of course, the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade® and the Sakura Matsuri-Japanese Street Festival, America’s largest one-day exhibition of Japanese culture. Both will take place on Saturday, April 13th on Pennsylvania Avenue. And guess what? This is only the short, major attractions list! There’s much more.
Don’t miss the City in Bloom campaign, which will visually unite and energize the region with bright blossom decals and pink and blossom lighting on buildings, in the skyline and on indoor and outdoor signage to welcome more than one million people to the Festival and showcase the best of DC to the world.
The Festival celebrates the gift of trees to DC from Tokyo in 1912 and generates more than $126 million in direct spending for DC and partners with more than 50 organizations, including many of the world’s greatest cultural institutions. For complete information about Family Days, the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade®, the Blossom Kite Festival and more, visit the Festival website.