2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. in Full Swing
This post originally written by WJBR Digital Production Intern, Elyse DiPisa. DiPisa is a sophomore Media Communications student at the University of Delaware from Montgomery County, PA. Along with being a Digital Content Intern for WJBR, Elyse also works for the university’s Student Television Network 49 News Program and as a tour guide for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
The 2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival is in full swing and has adapted its usual festivities this year in order to prioritize health and safety for all. Events include a virtual segment, as well as pandemic-safe in-person outdoor happenings in the D.C. area.
From now through Monday, May 31, individuals can go on a hunt throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland’s National Harbor, Virginia’s Aurora Highlands, and National Landing neighborhoods in search of a variety of cherry blossom sculptures designed by 25 local artists. Individuals are invited to snap a photograph after finding a sculpture and hashtag it with #ArtInBloom and tag @CherryBlossomFest for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card; one lucky winner will receive a $500 gift card. For more details on the contest, visit the Art in Bloom event page on the National Cherry Blossom Festival website.
This weekend on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11, the Petal Porch Parade will be coming to various neighborhoods in D.C., and some in Northern Virginia and Maryland. Anyone interested can talk a walk, drive, or bike ride around these local streets to view the springtime decorations. Individuals are encouraged and welcome to take photographs and share them with #PetalPorchParade and @CherryBlossomFest. The official website says they will be posting the shared images to the site’s Online Gallery. To read more about the parade, see the Petal Porch Parade page on the festival’s official website.
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The inaugural Petal Processions Parade will be visiting select neighborhoods during this weekend on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11. The procession will include several Toyota vehicles painted by local artists that will be parading through the neighborhoods who participated in the Petal Porch event – all located within D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland. You can read more about the featured artists on the Petal Processions page on the website.
If you are not local to the D.C. area but do not want to miss out on the festivities, the festival’s virtual Celebration Show will be airing this Friday, April 9 at 8pm on gatherthedistrict.com, and again this Saturday, April 10 at 12 noon on local channel WJLA-TV (ABC7). Co-hosts Drew Barrymore and Alison Starling will be accompanied by segment hosts Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Marsh. The full list of performers for the show is available along with all information about the events above at https://nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/.