"Spring in DC: The National Cherry Blossom Festival" Top 5 Page for this destination Embassy Events / Other Festivities Tip by Ewingjr98

While the first cherry trees were received and planted in 1912, it was not until 1935 that the first annual Cherry Blossom Festival was held. By the 1990s the popularity of the trees allowed the festival to be increased to two full weeks. Each year a million people visit the cherry blossoms and take part in various aspects of the festival.

The Cherry Blossom Festival mostly takes place around the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial, but some events take place in the National Building Museum, Union Station, the National Arboretum, the Japanese Embassy, some Smithsonian Institution locations, Pennsylvania Avenue, and even on the Potomac River. The highlight of the festival is the blossoms themselves, but you can also enjoy the parade, the street festival, boat tours, live music, arts and crafts, and great food.

We went to the 2009 festival, on a cold, wet Saturday in late March. Despite the poor weather, the blossoms were beautiful and there were lots of people present. Other than photograph the beautiful pink and white buds, the only part of the festival we saw was the food tents along the tidal basin. We had some chicken strips and chicken teriyaki bowls for about $8 or $9 each... pretty steep for festival food, but it was far better than I expected.

Website: http://nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/