D.C.'s annual Cherry Blossom Festival began this past Saturday, attracting tourists, locals and AU students who went to the National Mall and Tidal Basin to enjoy the sights and celebrate the beginning of spring.
Akina Hiramoto, a senior in the School of International Service, has visited the festival twice since the cherry blossom trees began to bloom.
"Cherry blossoms are a Japanese symbol," Hiramoto, who is from Saitama, Japan, said. "I'm very happy to see the flowers."
Tomonori Nakamura, who is from Kyoto, Japan, and a senior in the Kogod School of Business, also visited the festival. Both students said they enjoyed the weather and the flowers that remind them of home.
Nakamura said he noticed how Americans are always taking pictures.
"In Japan, we bring fruits and beer," he said.
Hiramoto and Nakamura explained a Japanese word, Ohanami, which describes the culture in which people enjoy the cherry blossoms by eating and drinking underneath the beautiful trees.
In 1912, Japan gave 3,000 cherry trees to the United States to show the close relationships between the two countries, according to the Festival's Web site.
The ceremony was first held on March 27, 1912, when then-first lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two of these trees on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park, according to the National Cherry Blossom Festival's Web site.
As years have progressed for the festival, Lillian Iverson, program manager for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, spoke of the importance of the relationship with the Embassy of Japan. In addition, Iverson also said the festival works closely with the Japan Information and Culture Center.
Since 1912, the festival has grown and attracted more people. Last year, the festival estimated about 1 million visitors participating during the two-week cultural events, programs and blossoms, Iverson said.
Around the Tidal Basin this weekend, visitors walked, took pictures, ate picnics and painted. Visitors can also enjoy the festival on bikes thanks to the Washington Area Bicyclists Association, which provided free bike valet parking services with two locations near the Jefferson Memorial and the National Monument.
This is the Washington Area Bicyclists Association second year participating in the festival. Randall Myers, on the board of Washington Area Bicyclists Association and an AU alumnus volunteered at the bike valet parking.
"It gives people in the area a chance to enjoy the Mall," Myers said. "It's great to see."
The National Mall was also crowded due to the Smithsonian Kite Festival. Flying high were bees, ladybugs, airplanes, American flags and even Spider-Man. People of all ages were trying their best to get their kites to fly.
Scot Schloss, 14, from Cincinnati, said, "I think it's fun everyone is out here doing the same thing."
At the Tenleytown Metro station, Laura White, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, had her kite ready to fly.
"I loved flying kites as a kid," she said.
