Rediscovering Spring With the 2022 National Cherry Blossom Festival

By Diana Mayhew, CFEE, President and CEO, National Cherry Blossom Festival

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the world’s greatest celebrations of spring. Like springtime and the cherry trees themselves, the Festival symbolizes hope, renewal, and new beginnings. And the trees at the Tidal Basin – a gesture of goodwill from Tokyo to Washington, D.C., 110 years ago – are a constant reminder of the importance of unifying communities and sharing in the celebration of peace and international friendship.

In 2022, the Festival was able to return to traditional in-person events while also incorporating the creativity that sprang from navigating the challenges posed by the pandemic. As a result, the Festival offered even more ways to celebrate the 1912 gift of trees across Washington DC and surrounding areas for four weeks, March 20 – April 17.

The Festival team worked with the board of directors to bring together more than 100 amazing sponsors and supporters, including Leadership Circle sponsors Amazon and Events DC; dozens of partners and supporting organizations, more than 1,000 enthusiastic volunteers from across the D.C. region; and dozens of local and national celebrities and performers, such as Grammy award nominees Nick Carter, Taylor Dayne, and Freddie Jackson, actor Laz Alonzo, online viral sensations The Sharpe Family Singers, and DC Go-Go band Rare Essence to assemble an amazing lineup of activities to accommodate a variety of comfort levels with in-person events.

The celebration truly went beyond the Tidal Basin – starting at doorsteps, blooming throughout neighborhoods, and embracing D.C. and surrounding areas. Here are 12 ways the community celebrated spring with the 2022 National Cherry Blossom Festival.

1. The giant cherry blossom sculptures from 2021 returned in 2022 to permanent locations in neighborhoods throughout D.C, and beyond. Visitors could walk, bike, scooter, or even drive around to visit the Art in Bloom sculptures, presented by Amazon, for the first time or rediscover their favorite in its permanent home.

2. The community got into the spirit of spring the second year in a row by decorating their porches, yards, windows and balconies with all things pink and petals for Petal Porches presented by Amazon – an idea borrowed from another IFEA organization, the Portland Rose Festival. This year, the Festival worked with local Instagram influencers to increase program engagement on social media.

3. The Opening Ceremony, co-presented with the Japan Foundation, an artistic celebration to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the gift of trees from Tokyo to D.C., featured special performances from acclaimed artists with ties to both countries at the famous Warner Theatre and via YouTube livestream on March 20, the first official day of spring.

4. Over 100 restaurants across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia participated in Cherry Picks, which returned for its 20th year to showcase the region’s diverse dining scene. New this year was Cherry Night, an exclusive nightlife showcase on March 31, with drink specials, free entertainment, and attendees encouraged to dress in pink.

5. The Blossom Kite Festival returned to the National Mall for the first time since 2019 on March 26. Thousands of attendees enjoyed kite flying during peak bloom, with kite-making, competitions, demonstrations, and a stunt kite performance. For those who preferred a smaller celebration, attendees were encouraged to visit any of the 12 Featured Parks across Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia that hosted their own neighborhood kite fly celebrations.

6. Attendees could bring their furriest family member to the Festivities too. The Paws & Petals program presented by Mars Petcare ensure most Festival events were pet-friendly, offering pet comfort stations with treats and giveaways as well as Yappy Hours.

7. The National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, presented by Events DC returned to Constitution Avenue on April 9 and featured award-winning performers, grand colorful helium balloons including Peppa Pig and Clifford the Big Red Dog, elaborate floats, marching bands from across the country, and more. The Parade is now being nationally syndicated on more than 200 stations through June.

8. On April 16, the Festival took over D.C.’s Capitol Riverfront neighborhood with Petalpalooza presented by Chase. The day-long event featured music, activities, games, and more during the fun Festival finale event. The Petalpalooza Art Walk, part of Art in Bloom presented by Amazon, extended the fun leading into and during the event, with ten “Instagrammable” immersive art installations throughout the community April 4 – 17.

9. DC sports teams truly embraced the cherry blossom spirit by collaborating to unveil special cherry blossom-themed uniforms during the 2022 Festival. The NBA Wizards previewed their City Edition uniforms that they will wear next season during the Cherry Blossom game on March 29, and the Nats proudly wore their City Connect edition gear for opening weekend and the Blossoms and Baseball Festival collaboration game on April 10.

10. The community took in the wonder of peak bloom at the Tidal Basin while experiencing a cross-cultural mix of free entertainment representing an array of global cultures at the Tidal Basin Welcome Area & ANA Stage, hosted with the National Park Service.

11. Starting March 20 D.C. and surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia came to life through City in Bloom, with pink decals, pink lighting, blossoms, and more. This year, the new iconic Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge officially lit up for the first time in pink throughout the Festival to welcome visitors and celebrate spring.

12. At the 2022 Pink Tie Dinner Party on April 28, attendees dressed in their finest pink attire and toasted the spring season during an unforgettable evening of dazzling entertainment, incredible cuisine, a rousing silent auction, and more to support the Festival mission at this fundraiser event.

2022 Festival attendance is estimated to be about 75 percent of pre-pandemic levels, with more attendees from local regions and fewer from out-of-state than in the past. Indicators of success include a sellout grandstand ticket crowd for the Parade, strong website traffic, and the highest Metro ridership levels since the pandemic began during Festival weekends.

The Festival engaged attendees digitally by inviting Festival-goers to post pictures, videos, and memories on social media using the hashtag #RediscoverSpring. Throughout the course of the campaign, the Festival gained over 13K followers and garnered over 5M impressions.

And the Festival was featured on hundreds of media outlets across the country, from “Good Morning America” and The Weather Channel to The New York Times, The Associated Press, and dozens of local and regional publications and broadcast stations. While final metrics are still being collected and analyzed, impressions are well in the billions, and earned publicity in the hundreds of millions.

It’s an honor to celebrate spring and bring the joy of the cherry blossoms to Washington, DC, surrounding areas, and beyond. We are grateful to be a part of the lasting memories that attendees made this Festival season.

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