Tiny buds on Washington, D.C.'s cherry blossom trees still haven't bloomed, but that isn't stopping thousands from celebrating the start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
On Sunday evening the festival kicked off with an opening ceremony at the Warner Theatre. The ceremony celebrated the start of spring with traditional and contemporary performances from American and Japanese artists.
Performers included T.M. Revolution, Akiko Yano, The 6821 Quintet and the Shodo Girls from Fukuoka Prefectural Yahata Chuo High School.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the anniversary of the gift of trees from Japan to the United States.
Organizers changed the date of the opening ceremony from March 24 to March 25 because of the March for Our Lives in which thousands descended on D.C. to rally for gun control.
After an early spring snow, the National Park Service pushed back the peak bloom for the cherry blossom trees for a second time. Peak bloom is now expected to happend April 8 to 12.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival has begun at the Warner Theatre. Now bring on the blossoms! pic.twitter.com/vP6xFp135L— Darcy Spencer (@darcyspencer) March 25, 2018
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Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Performance calligraphy team from the countryside of Japan performs at the National Cherry Blossom Festival at the Warner Theatre in DC. pic.twitter.com/WysYGTrSkl— Darcy Spencer (@darcyspencer) March 25, 2018
Famous Japanese pianist Akiko Yano performs at the Narional Cherry Blossom Festival at the Warner Theatre. pic.twitter.com/6pUlhit0oA— Darcy Spencer (@darcyspencer) March 25, 2018
