There's been a big change in the District. It's pink, breathtakingly beautiful and bursting into bloom everywhere, heralding the long-awaited arrival of springtime. That's right: The cherry blossoms are here, and although a deluge of post-spring break schoolwork may be overwhelming, there couldn't be a better season to experience one of D.C.'s most historically breathtaking annual spectacles - the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
Commemorating the gift to Washington, D.C., of 3,000 cherry trees from Japan in 1912, the festival revolves around the explosion of blooming blossoms that grace the Tidal Basin and other surrounding areas. Its March 26 opening ceremony kicked off two weeks of events, which will culminate Saturday with the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade and street festival, what the festival's Web site calls "Washington's largest annual spectator event." During the festival's two-week duration, more than 700,000 tourists are expected to flock to D.C. specifically for a peek at the bountiful blossoms.
Stephanie Wan, a freshman in the School of International Service, volunteers for the National Cherry Blossom Festival hospitality committee and has already put in plenty of hours preparing for this year's festival.
"I think it is great that we have the Cherry Blossom Festival each year to show that we actually acknowledge the existence of a culture other than our own," Wan said. "Without the festival, probably no one would know anything about the beautiful flowers that bloom around D.C., or take a second look and appreciate them for all they're worth."
Despite the aesthetics, Wan said the festival's most important underlying message addresses intercultural friendship. The United States reciprocated Japan's gift in 1915, offering flowering dogwood trees in exchange for the recently arrived cherry trees. In turn, another Japanese gift of 3,800 trees arrived in D.C. in 1965.
When a flood in 1981 wiped out many cherry blossom trees in Japan, Japanese horticulturists took cuttings from D.C. trees to plant anew back home. More recently, a 1999 planting in the Tidal Basin transplanted a new generation of cuttings from a famous Japanese cherry tree reputed to be more than 1,500 years old.
Genevieve Frye, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, said she thinks the festival is a great opportunity to celebrate both local and national traditions.
"It's a festival rich with tradition, but tradition truly unique to the city," Frye said. "It's a chance to celebrate both what we've accomplished as a nation since World War II, and to ring in spring."
In similar spirits, College of Arts and Sciences junior Mike Dickel said the festival is a yearly must-see.
"The cherry blossoms are one of those mandatory D.C. experiences, like going to the monuments or Ben's Chili Bowl," Dickel said.
Besides looking forward to seeing cherry trees blooming around the city, Wan said she is excited to see the street festival and parade on Saturday, predicting "it will be a lively day packed with people having a taste of a Japanese street festival."
Furthermore, her top reasons to attend are the festival's food, and cultural out reach.
"There should be some pretty interesting snacks that you probably can't eat at most Japanese restaurants in D.C.," Wan said. "College students can go to frat parties and get drunk any other day of the year, so why not try something interesting and new?"
For more information on this year's National Cherry Blossom Festival, visit www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.
