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National Cherry Blossom Festival

March 27, 2012 by · Comments Off on National Cherry Blossom Festival 

National Cherry Blossom Festival, The centennial celebration of Washington’s cherry trees is in full bloom this week with Cherry Blossom Festival events well underway.

This year’s cherry blossoms provided a spectacular display. Aarti Kabade is enjoying her first Cherry Blossom Festival with friends. “We’re really enjoying it. We are loving it. And these are beautiful colors to see,” she said.

This year’s festival marks the 100th anniversary of the gift of the first trees by the mayor of Tokyo, as a token of friendship between Japan and the United States. A few more than 100 of the original 3,000 trees survive. The rest have been replaced by the Japanese government or grown from the original trees’ genetic line.

Anne Ullberg came to the U.S. from France six years ago. She says she is happy to see more Japanese tourists in Washington, one year after an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan’s coast. “So I think this year is going to be more beautiful than ever, because some of them are able to come back now,” she said.

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