Owning Spring in a Big Way

Hats off to the National Cherry Blossom Festival for uniting the city in an unprecedented five-week celebration that recognized the gift of cherry trees from Tokyo to DC 100 years ago and set the pace for the future. The nation’s most popular springtime extravaganza absolutely took DC by storm from Tuesday, March 20 to Friday, April 27—and we have the numbers and unparalleled feedback to prove it:

• More than 1,000 supporters participated in the new City in Bloom campaign, featuring special pink and blossom lighting on iconic buildings or signage in Metro stations, on taxicabs and in stores and restaurants.
• More than 650 people attended the Pink Tie Party fundraiser, which sold out.
• The National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade® was nationally syndicated, reaching 71 million households in 17 of the Top 20 markets nationwide—plus, more than 120,000 people visited the Parade and grandstand seats sold out.
• The number of unique visitors to the Festival website rose 29%; social networking on Facebook shot up 80% and Twitter feeds soared 104%.
• A 30-second video shown for over a month in New York’s Time Square received about 1.5 million impressions per day.
• First Lady Michele Obama participated in the Centennial Tree Planting ceremony.
• A WETA public TV documentary about the Festival aired three times.
• 11,000 copies of Cherry Blossoms: the Official Book of the National Cherry Blossom Festival were printed by National Geographic, and the U.S. Postal Service, after printing 100 million Commemorative stamps, added another 50 million—only the third time in recent history that much a massive reprinting has been undertaken.
• After only 30 days on display, the landmark Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō JakuchÅ« attracted more than 7,000 daily visits, or 235,931 total—putting the exhibit in the Top 10 (it ranked 7th) for daily average attendance at the National Gallery of Art.

We could go on, but you get the picture. The Festival was fabulous and garnered both national and international interest. More details will be forthcoming. In the meanwhile, mark your calendar for 2013, when the Festival will take place from March 20 to April 14.