by Daniel Hatfield ’13

Packed streets, lots of walking and beautiful blooming cherry blossoms; all form the main factors of Washington DC’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival. According to Wikipedia, the city of Tokyo gave Washington cherry blossoms as a diplomatic gesture in 1912, symbolizing an allied relationship between the two nations.

Each year, DC organizes this festival to commemorate this gift and celebrate the city’s cultural diversity, which includes more than 200 cultural performances and 90 special events from March 20 to April 14 (according to About.com’s DC page). Some highlighted special events include the opening ceremonies, many family friendly activities (including a kite festival) and free cherry blossom tours where visitors are escorted by a National Park Ranger around the Tidal Basin to learn about the beautiful trees and the festival itself. Of course, simply taking an afternoon to walk around the Tidal Basin and enjoying the scenery are what attract many tourists to this annual celebration. Families can picnic along the grassy areas or even the steps of the Jefferson Memorial and enjoy the view of the nation’s capital. Large crowds are to be expected, with heavily increased foot traffic on the weekends of the festival. Public transportation is the recommended mode of travel, to and within the city, seeing as city parking is at a premium for the few weeks the festival takes place. DC has a lot to offer to anyone willing to walk a little, and the Cherry Blossom Festival is definitely one of the city’s attractions worth checking out.