March 15 – April 16, 2017 OFFICIAL GUIDE 1.877.44.BLOOM (442.5666) nationalcherryblossomfestival.org Leadership Circle National Cherry Blossom Festival 3 National Cherry Blossom Festival® Headquarters at Union Station Visit the Festival’s Union Station kiosk for official merchandise and information on all the events and programs. 50 Massachusetts Avenue, NE March 13 – April 19 Monday - Friday 10 AM - 7 PM Saturday 9:30 AM - 7 PM Sunday 10 AM - 5 PM National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc. Board of Directors Chair: Richard Bradley Chinyere Hubbard Principal, The Urban Partnership Vice President, Communications & Marketing, Events DC Past Chair: Kristin M. Rohr Brand Ambassador, Dr. Sachiko Kuno TABLE OF Contents Guest Services, Inc. Co-Founder and President, S&R Foundation 3 Welcome Vice Chair: Sue Porter 3 Festival Headquarters Director of Visitor Services, Karyn G. Le Blanc Visit Fairfax Senior Vice President, Welcome! 3 National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc. Stratacomm, LLC Board of Directors Secretary: Barbara Ehrlich A City Bursting with Blooms! Mary O’Connor LoJacono Signature Events Treasurer: Christy L. Toole Senior Consultant, Partner, KPMG LLP Towers Watson We’re delighted to welcome you to the 2017 National Cherry Blossom 4 Opening Ceremony Festival, one of the world’s greatest celebrations of spring! For close to 8 Blossom Kite Festival Lisa Abrams Laurel Lukaszewski Vice President of Government Artist/Owner, White Point Studio a century, the Festival has hosted a city-wide celebration that heralds 12 National Cherry Blossom Parade® Affairs, The Hotel Association of the arrival of the new season and honors Japan’s gift of more than presented by Events DC Washington, DC Chris McGee Senior Client Partner, Korn Ferry 3,000 flowering cherry trees to Washington, DC. 16 Southwest Waterfront Fireworks Jeffery Bank Hay Group Festival presented by Harris Teeter CEO, The Alicart Restaurant Group This year’s Festival runs from March 15 to April 16, bringing back long- 16 Tidal Basin Welcome Area and Susan E.S. Norton ANA Performance Stage Theresa Belpulsi Principal and Founder, Cultural time favorites and introducing exciting new events. From the waterfront Vice President, Tourism Sales, Connections Consultants Destination DC fireworks celebration and daily entertainment on the ANA Performance Premier Events Todd Payne Stage, to concerts, performances and our signature National Cherry 4 SAAM Cherry Blossom Celebration Tony Cancelosi, K.M. Government Affairs Manager, President and CEO, Columbia Microsoft Blossom Festival Parade® presented by Events DC, you’ll want to take 8 Sakura Matsuri – Lighthouse for the Blind advantage of all the Festival has to offer. Japanese Street Festival Christianne Ricchi 10 Anacostia River Festival Shin Donowaki Chef/Owner, Ristorante i Ricchi VP & General Manager, Keep this guide handy and don’t miss any of the fun! 10 Events DC Cherry Blast! Sumitomo Corp. of Americas Michael Stevens, AICP President, Capitol Riverfront BID 4 Cherry Blossom Radio Pam Galloway-Tabb 6 90th Anniversary of the Senior Vice President, Lauren Vaughan Conferences & Special Services, Secretary of the District of First Cherry Blossom Celebration Newseum Columbia 6 City in Bloom Tony Gittens David Yao 6 Getting There Executive Director, Filmfest DC Senior Vice President & General 8 Blossoms and Baseball Manager, Council for International Rachel Hartman Cooperation 10 Cherry Picks Director of Interactive Marketing Festival information and Communications, Deborah Ziska 15 Merchandise & Artwork DowntownDC BID Principal and Owner, 877.44BLOOM (877.442.5666) 15 National Cherry Blossom Festival Ziska: Communications & nationalcherryblossomfestival.org Must-Do List Marc Hitzig Collaborations, LLC Executive Director, The Japan- 15 Yayoi Kusama: An Iconic Exhibition American Society of Washington, DC Emerita: Ellie Harvey at the Hirshhorn Kathy Hollinger Diana Mayhew 16 Youth Art Contest & Community Art President, Restaurant Association President, National Cherry This section was prepared by the Advertising Custom Content Department of The Washington Show, Arise Bazaar Kimono Pop-up Metropolitan Washington Blossom Festival, Inc. Post and did not involve the editorial department of this newspaper. 18 Event Schedule 4 National Cherry Blossom Festival OPENING CEREMONYA Celebratory Start On , this signature event of the 2017 Saturday, March 25 from 5 to 6:30 PM All tickets have been claimed. Walk ups National Cherry Blossom Festival honors the 105th anniversary of the gift of will be accommodated on a first come first trees from Tokyo to Washington, DC. Presented in partnership with the Japan served basis pending availability. The show Foundation, this annual celebration at the historic Warner Theatre will feature will also be live streamed on Facebook. remarks by His Excellency Kenichiro Sasae, Ambassador of Japan and the Honorable Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia, plus spectacular The Opening Ceremony is supported by performances by acclaimed artists from Japan and the United States. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Inc., Toshiba, Don’t miss this line-up of extraordinary acts: Toyota, Warner Theatre and the Japan Commerce Association of Washington. The Shigeyama Kyogen troupe May J. is a multilingual J-pop artist and continues their family legacy of kyogen one of Japan’s most celebrated female performance dating to the 17th century. singers. The acclaimed vocalist and Kyogen is a comic form of traditional popular TV host is also widely known for Japanese theater with more than 600 singing the end roll version of “Let It Go” in years of history. Plays typically feature a the Japanese release of Disney’s “Frozen”, humorous “Everyman” figure and depict reaching No. 8 on the Japan Hot 100. daily life among commoners in feudal society or folktales. Kyogen was named The 6821 Quintet, named for the one of the “Masterpieces of the Oral distance between Washington, DC and and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” Tokyo, was created by the Ryuji Ueno by UNESCO in 2001. Foundation for the National Cherry Blossom Festival as part of the Potomac EL Squad is a world-renowned Music Lab Project. The 2017 group Japanese street dance crew from consists of Mayu Kishima (1st Violin), Japan. They have revolutionized the Eric Silberger (2nd Violin), Meng Wang contemporary dance genre with (Viola), Clancy Newman (Cello) and their signature “Light Dance” – a Mamiko Hirai (Composer/Pianist), and mesmerizing blend of dance, music, will perform the world premiere of a and electroluminescent technology. commissioned piece written by Ms. Hirai. SAAM CHERRY BLOSSOM CELEBRATION A Day of Japanese Culture and Fun for All Ages! Listen and Love it! New this year! Tune in to 104.7 FM “Cherry Blossom Radio” for key Festival-related information, including events, exclusive interviews, special music, fun facts, giveaways, and more. Stay up to date on traffic, weather, and the bloom watch. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is working closely with the Trust for the National Mall in a renewed On Saturday, March 25 from 11:30 AM to 3 PM, join the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and the National Cherry Blossom Festival in a free, family-friendly effort towards stewardship of the cherry trees. This celebration of Japanese culture! Be part of a fun, educational experience featuring new partnership seeks to raise funds for the National Japanese music and dance performances, face painting, cherry blossom-themed crafts, a Mall Cherry Tree Endowment, which focuses on the scavenger hunt, and more! Activities take place in SAAM’s Kogod Courtyard. Find special preservation and protection of the cherry trees that line cherry blossom treats in the Courtyard Café and products in the museum store. the Tidal Basin on the National Mall. Media sponsors include Washington Parent Magazine and 98.7 WMZQ. 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Save time with 2017 marks 90 years since the first celebratory planting by Mrs. Taft and the wife of the Japanese these convenient public transit options: festival of the gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Tokyo ambassador in 1912. The pageantry also included to Washington, DC. Although more modest in a theatrical presentation of Japanese myths and a Metro to the Tidal Basin scale than the National Cherry Blossom Festival we “Cherry Petal Ballet” danced by area schoolchildren. Take Metrorail to the Smithsonian/National Mall know today, the 1927 “Cherry Blossom Fete” was The America-Japan Society sent a message of Station on the Blue, Orange, or Silver lines; or ride a festive gathering of dignitaries and community appreciation from Tokyo, which was delivered in a 52 Metrobus to Independence Avenue & 14th Street, members commemorating the 1912