The chief horticulturist for the National Park Service said he believes the cherry blossom trees along the District’s Tidal Basin will reach their peak bloom shortly after the start of this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival will run from March 26 to April 10, and Rob DeFeo — who has been predicting the peak bloom for 20 years — said Thursday that the blossoms’ peak bloom will be between March 29 and April 3.
The average peak blooming date is April 4, so this year’s blossoms should be coming a little early.
The blooming period will be several days before and after the peak bloom.
| Festival facts |
| — The National Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off with the festival’s Family Day at 10 a.m. on March 26. |
| — The 16-day festival holds nearly 400 events including dinner cruises, sports tournaments, kite flying and a photo contest. |
| — This year, there is a new app for the iPhone and Droid with which anyone can receive real-time information. |
| — For more information, go to www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/. |
“The trees are healthy,” said DeFeo, despite some recent severe weather that included storms and “lots and lots of wind.” DeFeo noted that “the National Christmas Tree didn’t fare as well” as the cherry blossoms. The Christmas tree was toppled by high winds on Feb. 19.
There are 100 of the 3,000 original trees around the Tidal Basin that were sent from Japan 99 years ago. The others have been replaced over time.
Most of the nearly 400 National Cherry Blossom Festival events are free, and visitors are not charged to walk the Tidal Basin to see the blossoms. The trees and festival attract about 1 million visitors each spring.
“Everyone everywhere talks about the Cherry Blossom Festival,” said Victor Hoskins, D.C.’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development. “It is so special, and I know many cities are envious of us.”
This year will be the first time that there will be a charge for the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival — the largest Japanese festival in the United States. John Malott, president of the nonprofit Japan-America Society of Washington, which puts on the event, said they decided to charge a $5 entry fee per person over age 13 in an effort to downsize the event. Last year, the street festival attracted approximately 150,000 people.
“The number one reason [to charge admission] is that the crowds have just gotten too big,” Malott told The Washington Examiner. “It was a very conscious decision of how we could reduce the size of the crowd so that people can actually enjoy themselves.”
The street festival will span Pennsylvania Avenue from Ninth to 14th streets on April 9 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. In the past, many have gone to the street festival after the National Cherry Blossom Festival parade, which begins at 10 a.m.
