Peak bloom for the iconic cherry blossom trees of Washington, DC, is predicted for late March
WASHINGTON (AP) — For decades, the thousands of blooming cherry blossom trees in the nation’s capital have served as both a magnet to visitors and the unofficial start of the tourist season for Washington, D.C. This year, the peak bloom for the iconic pinkish white flowers is predicted to come between March 28 and 31, according to the National Park Service, which cares for the city’s 3,500 trees.
The overall Cherry Blossom Festival will run from March 20 through April 13.
The timing reverses a recent trend — attributed to global warming — of peak bloom creeping up in the calendar, coming earlier almost every year. But after a harsher-than-usual winter in D.C., this year's peak bloom window has shifted back by almost a week — still much earlier than 2013, when it started around April 9.
Festival President Diana Mayhew said last year's numbers exceeded pre-pandemic peaks for the first time — with about 1.6 million visitors and more than $200 million in revenue for city businesses.
“Every year the festival transforms our city,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the announcement event. “It's a big, big, big infusion of excitement and economic activity.”
Organizers have planned a host of events, including the annual kite festival March 29, the Petalpalooza celebration with music and fireworks on April 5, and the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on April 12. Restaurants traditionally roll out various cherry blossom-flavored specialties, from martinis to milkshakes.
The cherry blossoms date back to a 1912 gift of 3,000 trees from the mayor of Tokyo, and the Japanese government remains involved in their care and in the annual festival celebrations; this year, there will be a Japanese Street Festival on April 12 and 13.
Fumito Miyake, minister for public affairs at the Japanese embassy, said his government's decision to contribute an additional 250 trees would be a “birthday present” in advance of next summer’s celebration for the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Visitors this year will have to contend with slightly diminished access to the Tidal Basin, home to the highest concentration of the trees. The National Park Service is in the midst of a three-year renovation project to shore up the basin's aging seawall in time for next summer's anniversary.
As a result, parts of the basin will be off limits and fenced off. More than 100 of the trees had to be cut down as part of the project and will be replanted.
Devotees of Stumpy — the gnarled tree that became an internet celebrity — will not be able to visit the icon in person. Stumpy was one of the trees cleared for the renovations, but Stumpy clones live on, waiting to be planted when the work is done.
Organizers this year have added an event to honor the city's most famous tree — a memorial pedal-boat race March 20.
___
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
