Kites above the Washington Monument and cherry blossoms at peak bloom around the Tidal Basin created a beautiful and traffic-filled Sunday in D.C.
The Blossom Kite Festival was postponed from Saturday due to rainy weather. On Sunday, it ran 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Washington Monument. The event was open to the public and had activities, competitions and performances.
The U.S. Park Police recommended people should plan ahead when visiting the blossoms.
"Plan ahead for your visit to the #CherryBlossomFest. High visitation and traffic is expected today around the Tidal Basin. Parking in East and West Potomac Parks is very limited and fills up quickly. There are a lot of parking options north of the Tidal Basin," @usparkpolicepio tweeted.
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During the day, the BloomCam showed the sidewalk around the Tidal Basin filled with people and over 20 blue paddle boats in the water. While video from the top of the Washington Monument showed gridlock traffic on the surrounding roads and hundreds of people flying kites on the National Mall.
Visit the BloomCam and the Washington Monument camera for a look at current traffic in the area.
Sunday’s mild temps and sunshine made it an ideal day to visit the cherry blossoms and fly a kite, according to Storm Team4.
With a better forecast for Sunday and big crowds expected, people were encouraged to leave their car and use public transit to enjoy the bloom. There is limited parking available at the Tidal Basin and Metro has increased Blue, Orange and Silver line service and is offering $2 fares one-way through the entire festival.
Crowds began causing delays and long lines on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines at about 3 p.m. The Smithsonian Metro station was exit only and Metro asked visitors to use the L' Enfant and Federal Triangle stations for faster access to the National Mall.
"Thanks for riding @wmata to experience peak bloom and the Kite Festival. There are more than 30,000 riding Metro right now!!! It certainly beats the traffic, but we are experiencing minor delays on Blue, Orange and Silver lines due to crowds," @wmata tweeted.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off Saturday with the signature Opening Ceremony. The festival runs through April 16 and is billed as the world’s best celebration of spring.
Despite Saturday's gloomy weather, crowds flocked to see the blossoms, and at one point, U.S. Park Police issued a traffic alert. Viewers also sent pictures showing bumper-to-bumper traffic near the Tidal Basin, with some saying they were stuck for hours.
“They’re still peaking right now, so they’re still at 70% of the blossoms blooming. I think we’ll get through the weekend at least, maybe even through next week, and hopefully we’ll still see some blossoms around next weekend,” Diana Mayhew, president of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, said.
Check out our guide to visiting the Tidal Basin.
In addition to traffic around the National Mall, Washington Spirit's opener was at Audi Field in Southwest D.C.
