As cherry blossoms bloom, so did Bloomaroo, the annual festival at the Wharf celebrating spring’s arrival — but it took more than the trees to become a successful event.
Cherry blossom season in Washington, D.C., is a highly anticipated yet fleeting annual sight, often lasting four to seven days. The festival, open to all and free of charge, occurred during this year’s peak bloom on March 28 from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“It’s the busiest time of year for us,” Breyonna Evans, a member of the events programming team at the Wharf, said. “Last year we had around 90,000 people on site.”
Evans said Bloomaroo is special because it means the D.C. community can come together to enjoy the cherry blossoms blooming.
“I’ve been looking forward to [the cherry blossoms] for the past two-months,” said Lily Kross, a freshman in the School of International Service.
The festival offered vendors, such as a “taste of Japan," with various Japanese food vendors and performances featuring Japanese sumo wrestlers and DC Judo. At 8 p.m., the annual firework display will also begin at the waterfront, visible to everyone at the festival.
This year, some new booths were added to the festival lineup, including booths from UnitedHealthcare and Hill Crest, Evans said.
UnitedHealthcare’s booth hosted live health and wellness activity demos, including live cooking and fitness.
Though the celebration and event was large, the planning team behind Bloomaroo only consisted of 12 people.
“We’re small but mighty and I think that [the general public doesn’t ] realize … all the things that we do here with such a small group of people,” Evans said.
Evans said the team begins contacting vendors, performers and companies to partner with at the beginning of the year.
Bloomaroo had an area for everyone, according to Evans. There was a main event area on one end, a kids zone on the other and family-friendly performances and activities throughout the almost mile-long festival.
“So truly we’re always excited to bring in fun, especially new activities for the community to engage with,” Evans said.
Along with the performances and food to eat, there were also booths featuring display cars, artwork and, of course, the cherry blossoms.
This article was edited by Olive Redd, Payton Anderson and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Mattie Lupo and Ava Stuzin.
