WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the National Park Service expects more than 1 million visitors for the 97th National Cherry Blossom Festival, March 26-April 12, the most people for any event in the National Park System this year.
“The Cherry Blossom Festival is one of our country’s traditional rites of spring, providing visitors opportunities to experience this beautiful city at the most colorful time of the year,” Salazar said. “The Park Service and its partners have put together an extraordinary schedule of events ranging from the National Cherry Blossom Festival Family Day to the annual Cherry Blossom parade. I am confident it will be one of the best festivals ever.”
The National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, honoring the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrating the continued close relationship between the two countries.
The National Park Service works with a variety of partners including not-for-profit National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., the District of Columbia and the Smithsonian Institution to host events that not only include the parade and family day but also a 10-mile run, sushi and sake tasting, a fireworks display, a gala dinner cruise, and a ceremonial lighting of the Japanese lantern by the Tidal Basin.
The Park Service hosts a Festival Center in the Tidal Basin parking lot that includes interpretative exhibits, cultural demonstrations, educational programs, and concessions.
For more information on the festival, a Web site is available at http://nationalcherryblossomfestival.org