Spring in Washington is my favorite time of year.  Growing up here, I always enjoyed the annual trek downtown to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms in bloom. The “guest of honor” (the cherry blossoms in bloom) doesn’t always arrive in time for the annual festival, or may have arrived and already be gone, but this year it looks like the peak date of blooms falls right within the  festival celebration and if the temperatures don’t get too warm, rainy or windy, we may be able to enjoy the blossoms through the parade on April 10th.

For details on the Cherry Blossom Festival and its related events, go to the  official festival site here.  The Washington Post also has a site dedicated to the festival here.

The area around the Tidal Basin and East Potomac Park is the most popular place to visit and you can even rent a paddle boat to get out on the water and enjoy them there.  But if you don’t want to fight the crowds at the Tidal Basin, try the National Arboretum which offers a self-guided tour or visit  the  Kenwood neighborhood near River Road and Brookside Drive in Bethesda/Chevy Chase which offers a seasonal walk.  Blooms in Kenwood should peak a few days later than the ones in DC because of cooler temperatures.

A new cultural center in Rosslyn scheduled to open 10-10-10 will combine the former Newseum space with the Rosslyn Spectrum. A countywide contest to come up with a name for the new center resulted in “Artisphere.” To see more about what this new center will include and its purpose click here