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National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington DC, USA

Each year, the National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. The gift and annual celebration honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and the continued close relationship between the two countries.

Todays National Cherry Blossom Festival has grown from modest beginnings into the nations greatest springtime celebration. A group of American school children reenacted the initial planting and other activities, effectively holding the first festival in 1927. The festivities grew again in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the nations capital. The Festival was expanded to two weeks in 1994 to accommodate a diverse activity schedule during the blooming period. Over the years, millions have participated in Festival events and viewed the flowering cherry trees. In 2012, the Festival expanded to five weeks (from 16 days in recent previous years) to provide a grand tribute to the 100-year anniversary of the gift of trees. Today, more than 1.5 million people visit Washington, DC each year to admire the blossoming cherry trees and participate in diverse programming that heralds spring in the nations capital.

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