WASHINGTON, D.C. — Union Station gets a pink makeover for one night only as Cherry Blossom fans take over. The Pink Tie Party helps sponsor all the free events put on by the National Cherry Blossom Festival for the District of Columbia. They work to incorporate Japanese culture into all the events to honor the historic trees gifted to the United States 112 years ago.
“We showcase and honor the history of the festival, which is Japanese culture that definitely has inspired us,” said Diana Mayhew, the president of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
Grab your passport, and you’re transported to Paris, Tokyo, and the nation’s capital, as local restaurants try to recreate food from each location with a cherry blossom twist.
“Part of our focus is definitely to bring in all the businesses and the restaurants into DC celebrating that with our visitors,” Mayhew said. “With the Japanese inspiration, you can go up to the Tokyo room and get some sake and sushi and all kinds of fun things.”
The Pink Tie Party is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Money from ticketed entry and the silent auction go toward helping fund free events for the rest of the season.
“Our goal is to take the celebration of the cherry blossom festival from the title basin to the downtown, to all eight Wards of the city and into the region,” Mayhew said. “[The money from the Pink Tie Party] sponsors lots of community events. We bring programs to the schools, we’re doing kites with kids, the opening ceremony happens in the Warner theater next weekend, Pedal Palooza down at the Capitol riverfront, and the finale weekend of the parade right down Constitution Avenue.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
More than 36 million people visit the nation’s capital each year to see the flowering trees. Those who had planned to come for peak bloom may actually be too late. Due to a string of unexpected warmer days, peak bloom has jumped to March 17 compared to the originally predicted March 23 – 26. The National Park Service wrote on X that the Tidal Basin cherry trees are “opening & putting on a splendid spring spectacle.”
Even if visitors miss the flowering trees, they can still enjoy the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs from March 20 to April 14, as well as a number of places around Washington, D.C., to get their cherry blossom fix.
