blossomtastic

This year, I decided to celebrate my mom's birthday by volunteering at the National Cherry Blossom Festival. It was a beautiful, if slightly chilly, day to be downtown on the Mall.

The Cherry Blossom Festival lasts two weeks and tends to be one of those things Washingtonians do once or twice and then cross off the list. It marks the official start of tourist season, wherein legions of fanny-packin' clueless zombies invade the National Mall and clog up the Metro by not standing on the right side of the escalators. That being said, it's also a wonderful time to celebrate the classic beauty of our Nation's capital.

NCBF volunteers and our new Park Service friend

The focal point of the Fest is the Tidal Basin, where thousands of cherry trees frame the Jefferson Memorial. (These trees were presented in 1912 by the mayor of Tokyo, to replace the original batch, which all died of disease a few years earlier.) However, this year the organizers moved the performances, and the info booth, to the Sylvan Theatre Stage. You may remember this stage from such memorable gigs as American Giant's May 2009 show. It's at the base of the Washington Monument, which is a pretty kickass setting. There are plenty of cherry trees at this site as well, so even though the volunteers spent our time at this location we were able to see lots of blossoms.

Kyo Daiko troupe from Philly

All in all, it was a great way to commemorate my mom while doing some community service and getting some fresh air. Happy Birthday, JEZ!

RELATED LINKS:
* browse all Cherry Blossom pics
* Celebrating Joan with the first seedlings of the season
* I'm with the band
* Celebrate Joan, a site to celebrate the bright & shiny life of Joan Zamborsky
* National Cherry Blossom Festival official site | performance schedule

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