FREE Events For Families During the National Cherry Blossom Festival

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is back and in full effect! From March 20 to April 14, 2019, the Washington, DC area will be flooded with events for all ages. They’ll be FREE family events, food and bar crawls for the adults and a ton of art exhibitions and interactive demonstrations. Get out and celebrate the beautiful blossoms in bloom at these FREE Events!

Tidal Basin Welcome Area and ANA Performance
March 23 – April 14; 12pm – 6pm
1501 Main Ave, SW
Daily performances provides visitor services, first aid, food, souvenirs, books, and more. Park rangers and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions about the Festival. Visit the National Cherry Blossom Festival tent in the Paddle Boat Parking Lot for fun interactive entertainment, official merchandise, and more.

Blossom Kite Festival
March 30; 10am – 4:30pm
Monument
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is kicking off kite season. The annual Blossom Kite Festival showcases the creativity of kite makers and skill of fliers from across the US and other countries through a variety of competitions and demonstrations, Rokkaku Battles and the Hot Tricks Showdown. Bring your own kites or children can make a kite at an activity station (while supplies last) to fly on the Public Field. Kites will also be available for purchase on site.

CUENTA-CUENTOS: STORYTIME in Spanish (Llamame Arbol)
March 31; 11am – 12pm
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Bring your youngest artists and let’s take a trip to the depths of the earth, discovering what can grow from it, with a visit to the round bronze sculptures Spatial Concept: Nature by Lucio Fontana and a reading of Maya Christina González’s Call Me Tree/Llámame árbol. STORYTIME explores contemporary art through stories and movement. Museum staff will read aloud a book, introduce children to an artist in the collection, and lead a hands-on activity.

Ikebana Floral Design Workshop for Kids
April 6; 1 pm – 2pm
Green Spring Gardens – Alexandria
Kids (8-12 years) can try their hand at creating a Japanese-style floral design influenced by the flowering cherry trees. Instructor Elizabeth Berry will introduce kids to this Asian art and help them create a small arrangement of their own to take home. RSVP at 703-642-5173 or online at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/green-spring/classes-camps.

Celebrate the National Cherry Blossom Festival!
Freer Gallery of Art
April 6; 10 am -12 pm
Take a family-friendly tour and learn about nature in Japanese art (10:30 am). Then, enjoy art-making activities and artist demonstrations inspired by spring. All ages welcome with adult companions.

Growing Community 
National Building Museum
April 7; 10 am – 2 pm
Celebrate the playfulness of spring at the National Building Museum! Participate in hands-on activities and learn from community partners as you explore how landscape design can inspire outdoor play to grow and strengthen community. Explore how nature can be intentionally integrated into and around built spaces to help promote community and encourage civic engagement. Work with friends and family to design and build a large-scale model of your own green space inspired by a park in your neighborhood or one you would like to see added to your community.

Official Japanese Stone Lantern Lighting Ceremony
Tidal Basin
April 7; 3pm – 4:30pm
Nestled under the cherry blossom trees on the Tidal Basin, this ceremony includes remarks by top US officials and Japanese diplomats as well as traditional songs and music performed by Toho Koto Society of Washington DC and the Washington DC Choral Society.

Oxon Run Pink-Nic
Oxon Run Park
April 7; 1 pm – 3 pm
A neighborhood celebration in the green space that is home to DC”s second largest cherry blossom tree grove. Community and family-friendly entertainment adds to the fun!

Petalpalooza
April 6; 12pm – 9:30pm
The Wharf
Event formerly known as the Southwest Waterfront Fireworks Festival to transform the waterfront into a one-day-only springtime spectacle. Southwest Waterfront Fireworks Festival, Petalpalooza will include interactive art installations, larger-than-life games and activities, live music on three outdoor stages, a roller rink, a beer garden, a spectacular fireworks show by Pyrotecnico, and much more. Fireworks begin at 8:30 PM.

Official Japanese Stone Lantern Lighting Ceremony
April 8; 3pm – 4:30pm
Tidal Basin
Nestled under the Cherry Blossom trees on the Tidal Basin, this ceremony includes remarks by top US officials and Japanese diplomats as well as traditional songs and music performed by the Toho Koto Society of Washington DC and the Washington DC Choral Society.

Storytime Under the Cherry Blossoms
April 3; 10am -12pm
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Bring your youngest artists to Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree for Washington DC, a Japanese Dogwood tree symbolizing community and hope for the future. We will read aloud a Japanese tale about a man swallowing a seed which results in a tree growing out of his head. Storytime explores contemporary art through stories and movement. Museum staff will read aloud a book, introduce children to an artist in the collection, and lead a hands-on activity.

Japanese Kimono Fashion Show
April 11; 10:30am – 12:30pm
Freer Sackler Gallery of Art
Commentary on Japanese Kimono followed by a fashion show of traditional Japanese Kimonos, modern Japanese Kimonos, and Kimono inspired dresses.

National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade
April 13; 10am -12pm
Constitution Ave (7th to 17th Street, NW)
Standing along the Parade route from Constitution Avenue between 9th and 15th streets, NW is FREE and open to the public. Giant colorful helium balloons, elaborate floats, marching bands from across the country, celebrity entertainers, and performers burst down the Parade route in a grand spectacle of music and showmanship seen only once a year during the Festival.

Sakura Matsuri- Japanses Street Festival
April 14; 10am – 6pm
Pennsylvania Avenue, Between 3rd & 7th Street, NW
Free for Kids 12 and under, 13+: $10
The Sakura Matsuri—Japanese Street Festival, the largest one-day celebration of Japanese culture. Event brings vibrant performances to four stages showcasing 30 cumulative hours of programming. The event is held rain-or-shine.

Learn more about the National Cherry Blossom Festival and its history at nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/.