Cherry blossom season

After the cherry blossom festival being cancelled for two years due to the pandemic, we are delighted to see it back again. Most of the main cherry blossom events – the parade and festivals – are still to come during April. Here’s what we’ve already enjoyed seeing – the short season of the blossoms in bloom and the kite festival.

Cherry blossoms from above

Looking down at the MLK Memorial from the Washington Monument. ©Angela N.

Blossoms at night

Blossoms against the moon. ©Diane Krauthamer (IG: @diane.krauthamer)
MLK Memorial. ©Victoria Pickering

The classic Tidal Basin view

Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial. ©Angela N.

Blossoms at the Hirshhorn

Nicolas Party’s Draw the Curtain is a scrim surrounding the entire Hirshhorn building, and cherry blossoms bloom in front of it.

©Miki Jourdan

People dressing up for the blossoms

©Rob Klug
©Rob Klug

Animals enjoying the blossoms

©Rob Klug
Someone brought a pet bird to the Tidal Basin ©Angela N.

Japanese American Memorial

Cherry blossoms surround the Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II. The heart-breaking statue of cranes entrapped in barbed wire is a symbol of Japanese incarceration camps in the U.S. during the war.

©Angela N.

Blossoms close up

Blossoms at the Tidal Basin. ©Victoria Pickering

Kite Festival

The Cherry Blossom Kite Festival took place on Saturday, with large crowds and kites flying in gusty winds, and skies that were dark and gloomy but didn’t dim the joy.

©Rob Klug
©Miki Jourdan
Lincoln Memorial. ©Victoria Pickering
©Victoria Pickering
©Victoria Pickering
©Miki Jourdan

FDMB in pink

The new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge is lit in pink for cherry blossom season.

©Miki Jourdan

For all the cherry blossom season events yet to come, here’s the event listing.


We continue to photograph the support for Ukraine in D.C. See our full documentation.

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