Washington’s Tidal Basin comes alive as the Cherry Blossom Trees bloom to herald Spring – Tola Adenle

April 10, 2019

By the time you read this, The Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs every year from March to April, and commemorates the gift of approximately 3,000 cherry trees which bloom with the arrival of Spring, would have passed their most glorious days. Washington, D.C. (D.C.) is home to annual event. The Festival, located mainly around the Tidal Basin, attracts hundreds of thousands of people to D.C. each year.

Even though majority of the throngs of annual visitors who come to D.C. annually stop to see the beauty of the blossoming trees around the Tidal Basin in the park area near The Capitol, The Mall, The White House and many of D.C.’s monuments to America’s icons in early Spring, many of the trees were also planted at the National Arboretum in N.E. Washington off New York Avenue before the road becomes the Baltimore-Washington Parkway; many were also planted in nearby suburban Maryland in Bethesda.

Among many events that celebrate the Cherry Blossoms which heralds the coming of Spring are the Cherry Blossom Festival, a 5-kilometer run that is opened to all and Sakura Maturi Japanese Festival.

While I had seen the wonder at The Tidal Basin quite a few times from the 1970s, it had always been from the inside of moving vehicles, and the same thing almost happened this year because of the problem of parking. We had left for downtown very early thinking we would get a place to park but no such luck. There were already – perhaps – thousands of tourists before our arrival which was before 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and after driving around for over 20 minutes, my daughter who drove, volunteered to drop us my niece (from out of state) and me near the Martin Luther King Memorial which is right in the middle of blooming trees. We could take in the sight while the driver circled the entire park area.

Here are some photos that we took as well as some from other sources:

First is The Museum of African-American History designed by a group anchored by Ghanaian-Brit’s Adjaye Bond/Smith Group, an image captured as we drove round and round the Park.

The Museum of African-American History. The Washington Monument, which must surpass ALL D.C. buildings in height, is far at the back. [Credit: Tola Adenle, March 30, 2019].

Blogger (r.) with niece at Martin Luther King Memorial March 30, 2019.[Photo Credit: Tourist]

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. [Credit: Tola Adenle, March 30, 2019

MLK Memorial. At the back are cherry blossom trees. [Credit: Tola Adenle, March 30, 2019]

*My niece, Nikki enjoys a walk under a boulevard of cherry blossoms [Credit: Tola Adenle, March 30, 2019]*

Huge canopies form everywhere, including this one; tourists stroll along the Tidal basin which the Cherry Trees rim. [Credit: Tola Adenle, March 30, 2019]

And this, from National Harbor MGM Resort on the Potomac River in S.E. D.C. A celebration of Cherry blossoms displayed in various forms throughout the humongous MGM property. [Credit: The Washington Post]

EXCERPT from MGM Hanami at the National Harbor. Check all the displays out through the link below: