Cherry Blossom Festival

So I had a "treat day" Friday before last. instead of sleeping late, doing laundry, catching up on my email and so on, I went into Washington DC and experienced the National Cherry Blossom Festival. I didn't take my camera as thunderstorms were forecast, so no pictures! Not by me anyway.

I took a "Cherry Blossom Secrets" tour. I'd already learned the basic story from the festival website, but getting extra bits of the story and visiting cherry trees all around (they're all over the city, not just at the Potomac Basin) was delightful.

The first tree was a lovely weeping cherry tree in a Smithsonian Institute garden that's modeled on a Chinese monastery's garden. The picture of the Moongate Garden on the Smithsonian's website is taken from the vantage point of that tree so you can't see its beauty. Though the rest of the garden is lovely and restful in that understated East Asian manner.

Some of the secrets: The champions of the trees were mostly women--two world travelers (one was a travel writer herself), the third was Pres. Taft's wife. All 3 had visited Japan and were captivated by the Cherry Blossom festival, especially the trees. The first set of trees, paid for by a Japanese-American doctor, turned out to be diseased and had to be burned. 18 somehow went missing, but it seems that the local National Park Service headquarters has trees of that age in the front of their building. Hmmm.... The first two trees in the second batch (carefully checked in Japan; you can imagine the political hot potato the "diseased trees" were) were planted in 1912, the day after they arrived safe and healthy. We got to see them--rather gnarled but still blossoming beautifully. Most cherry trees last about 50 years but these have been lovingly tended for decades.

Walking under the trees that surround the Potomac Basin is sooo lovely. I don't have the words to describe it: it has to be experienced. They arch over the walkway circling the basin. When I went they were past peak, but that meant petals were falling in a most romantic fashion. No wonder the trees are both a sign of first love and of the fleeting beauty of life.

And just as in Japan, people picnic under the trees. Families come by the hundreds to visit and walk. (I took photos for one family).

I didn't make the sake tasting (which sells out early) and had only a lame quasi-Japanese lunch, but I did see one of the cultural performances at the Jefferson Memorial, Rhythmaya. They're an East Indian fusion dance troupe that also gives classes. I'm pretty sure this picture is of them. You can see the Potomac Basin and the lovely cherry trees in the background. After their last dance they called up people to do it with them. Guess who was the second one up? I even went on stage, though mainly because I figured the back of the stage would be a safe place to stash my purse since there was no one to hold it. Such fun, and their teacher/leader was excellent. I was wondering how we'd do one move, but she called out "light bulb"--and yes, the way you moved your hands was just like screwing in a light bulb!

After the dance, I hit the Freer and Sackler galleries for some Asian art. The Chinese porcelain was probably my favorite, though I also enjoyed seeing a variety of images of Buddhas from around East Asia.

I definitely want to go next year. Who's coming with me?