Opening ceremonies for the 98th celebration of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in our nation’s capital, will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. next Saturday (March 27, 2010) at the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Official dates for this celebration of spring are March 27 through April 11, 2010, although the “best guess” for peak bloom is April 3-8. This year’s festival marks the 98th celebration of the original gift of the 3,000 cherry trees by the city of Tokyo, Japan, to the people of Washington, D.C., in 1912.

The blooming of the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. has come to symbolize the natural beauty of our nation’s capital city. The trees signal spring with an explosion of life and color that surrounds the Tidal Basin in a sea of pale pink and white blossoms. We backyard gardeners can only dream of such a display!