by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Photo credit: Brendan Kownacki
The weather may be taking a turn that’s a bit unseasonably cold, and there may be a snowy flake or two in the air, but that can’t stop the 2014 National Cherry Blossom Festival from blooming in DC. Sure, the buds on the trees might be a bit delayed, but it’s truly that 4 seasons a year that keep Washingtonians on our feet. Anyhow, didn’t Phil the groundhog warn us about this?
Mike Hydeck and Andrea Roane of WUSA TV9
This past weekend the 2014 festival officially kicked off with an opening ceremony concert to get everyone ready for spring. The festival celebrates its 102nd anniversary this year of the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees to the District from Tokyo, Japan. The tradition of marking the blooms is a favorite springtime activity for DC and the whole country as more than a million people flock into the Nation’s Capital to welcome the season.
The festival has become a must and the three weeks of programming is about more than weather but also about celebrating arts, culture, diplomacy, and the environment. Each year the blossoms have come to represent a fresh start and this year is no different.
To kick off the festival, the opening ceremony set the tone by blending music and humor and cultural relations to get everyone ready for another successful year. There were American and Japanese singers, local dancers, jazz artists and baritones and a headliner blowing the speakers to ground in the form of Judith Hill. Hill has lent her voice to Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and grew a following on NBC’s The Voice. Her sultry voice reminded everyone of the warm feeling that bright flowers give you on a sunny day.
The festivities have begun and continue for the next three weeks so there is lots to take part in. It’s “the nation’s greatest springtime celebration” and you don’t want to miss it.
Learn more about what is coming up at NationalCherryBlossomfestival.org
Here’s a look inside this week’s kickoff:
