Albright goes to Cherry Blossom Festival

Cherry Blossom trees are called 'Sakura' in Japanese

The National Cherry Blossom Festival has been a long standing tradition in Washington D.C. The festival is all about celebration of the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. The festival is a celebration honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and the continued close relationship between the two countries. It has many events for tourist to enjoy.

This year two student organizations from Albright, took trips to Washington D.C. to enjoy the festival. Albright Anime Society, a club dedicated to the appreciation of Japanese animation (anime) and Japanese comics (manga), and the International Student Association both took field trips on April 2 to see the cherry blossoms and spend a day in the country’s capital.


“Despite the crazy weather, the trip was very fun,” said Nona Parker, a sophomore. “The cherry blossoms were in bloom and when the sun did shine, the scene was breath taking.”

According the other participants at the trip the weather was quite unpredictable on that day. While the forecast called for a 30 percent of scattered showers, the forecast did however, predict a chance of hail.

“That was the worst part of the trip,” said sophomore Julia Lake. “We were looking at the cherry blossoms when suddenly a black cloud came. My groups and I thought it was just going to be another rainstorm, but hail suddenly came.”

By the Tidal Basin before the hail storm

According to Lake, the hail storm did not last long. By the time Lake and her group reached cover in a museum the storm “went away like there was no tomorrow.” The weather did not change for the rest of their trip.

“I was lucky enough to be inside when it hailed,” said Parker. “But seeing the cherry blossoms was worth the bad weather.

Despite the low temperatures, it did not have an effect on the blossoms. According to their website the 2011 peak bloom date was on March 29, and the blooming period was from March 26- April 7.

The peak bloom date is the day on which 70 percent of the blossoms are open, while the blooming period when 20 percent of the blossoms are open until the petals fall and leaves appear. The blooming period starts several days before the peak bloom date and can last as long as 14 days. However, nobody can fully predict these days because of weather conditions.

“They cherry blossoms were beautiful,” said Lake. “I want to see them next year as well.”

The 2012 National Cherry Blossom Festival will make the event's Centennial. Already grand preparations are being made to make this festival one to remember.