National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC

It was started in 1912 when the city of Tokyo gave 3,000 cherry trees to the city of Washington, DC. The festival is sponsored by companies like Target and ABC, with the parade generally being hosted by Southwest Airlines. Many of the events are so popular that they get sold out well in advance, so you may want to plan your trip several months in advance if you want to go. They have had dinner cruises, sushi and sake tasting, and many other events that you don't want to miss. Many of the events have a Japanese theme to honor the gift of the trees by Tokyo.

Tours of the Cherry Blossoms

There will be a mass of tours that will show the cherry blossoms from all different angles, so you may be overwhelmed by trying to decide which one to go on. Choose based on price, because every tour company will try to claim to have the best view of the trees and so each one will have great spots. Most of them will incorporate the historical aspects of the city so your tour will have much of the same information.

Cherry Blossom Events

The cherry blossom attracts a huge number of events, but the schedule changes from year to year. If you want to know what events are going on for this upcoming year, you should check their website, which is updated frequently as events are planned. Past events were cherry blossom walks, concerts, museum presentations, food tasting, sporting events and more! Check their site frequently for more information.

Cherry Blossom Calendar

The Cherry Blossom Festival usually coincides with the time of the year that the cherry blossom trees bloom, so it changes every year. The best way to keep up with when it will be is to check the National Cherry Blossom Festival website or join their listserv. Either way, you will be in on the newest information available for the festival. If you have never been to the Cherry Blossom Festival, then you will want to be sure to plan your Washington DC vacation around it, so you won't miss out on one of the best events in Washington DC.

Festival Merchandise

The National Cherry Blossom Festival website has merchandise available on their website for those interested in having a souvenir without having to go the festival, or for people interested in having it in advance so it could be utilized during the festival. Either way, the merchandise is generally well done and a big hit for travelers to the DC area.