The past two weeks has been the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.
I had never heard about the Cherry Blossom's in D.C., but they have a wonderful story.
In 1912 Japan gave these most treasured trees as a gift to the United States, the trees have been planted all throughout D.C. especially around the monuments. Now there is an entire festival with a parade, Japanese Street festival and many other activities to celebrate the blossoms.
We decided to check out the Freer art gallery the Monday we went down. This is the smithsonian collection of Asian art.
Above is a Chimera, I really like these creatures, at least in the artform, if you look them up on wikipedia they sound quite scary in the mythology section.The picture below is the Peacock room, it is quite exquisite!
We had some fun with this giant mirror in one of the rooms at the art gallery.The mirror was wavy, so in some parts you looked short and squat...
Below is where I decided to reveal to Matt the much gaurded secret I have been keeping from him... I am a cylon. It was a dramatic moment. (must see Battlestar Gallactica)
Others parts of the mirror were just psychedelic...
and other parts you looked giant... We had too much fun with just a simple mirror!
We stumbled out of the mirror room into the courtyard for the smithsonian castle and WOW!! The magnolias were just amazing here, I really couldn't get over the beauty!
Absolute Heaven!
History of the Trees and Festival
The National Cherry Blossom Festival® annually commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, honoring the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrating the continued close relationship between our two cultures.
In a simple ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. In 1915, the United States Government reciprocated with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. A group of American school children reenacted the initial planting in 1927 and the first "festival” was held in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the Nation’s Capital.
First Lady Lady Bird Johnson accepted 3,800 more trees in 1965. In 1981, the cycle of giving came full circle. Japanese horticulturists were given cuttings from our trees to replace some cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a flood.
The Festival was expanded to two weeks in 1994 to accommodate a diverse activity schedule during the trees’ blooming. Today, more than a million people visit Washington, DC each year to admire the blossoming cherry trees and attend events that herald the beginning of spring in the Nation’s Capital.
Others parts of the mirror were just psychedelic...
and other parts you looked giant... We had too much fun with just a simple mirror!
We stumbled out of the mirror room into the courtyard for the smithsonian castle and WOW!! The magnolias were just amazing here, I really couldn't get over the beauty!
Absolute Heaven!
History of the Trees and Festival
The National Cherry Blossom Festival® annually commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, honoring the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrating the continued close relationship between our two cultures.
In a simple ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. In 1915, the United States Government reciprocated with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. A group of American school children reenacted the initial planting in 1927 and the first "festival” was held in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the Nation’s Capital.
First Lady Lady Bird Johnson accepted 3,800 more trees in 1965. In 1981, the cycle of giving came full circle. Japanese horticulturists were given cuttings from our trees to replace some cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a flood.
The Festival was expanded to two weeks in 1994 to accommodate a diverse activity schedule during the trees’ blooming. Today, more than a million people visit Washington, DC each year to admire the blossoming cherry trees and attend events that herald the beginning of spring in the Nation’s Capital.
2 comments:
Oh my gosh.... these pictures are GORGEOUS!! I'm glad you finally got to go see them :) I'm so jealous :p
I want to be a Cylon! :) Teach me how!
Cherry blossoms - and magnolias - were gorgeous. I want some! :)
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