This past weekend marked the end of Washington D.C.’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival, an event held while the district’s beautiful cherry blossoms are in bloom. I was fortunate enough to attend on Saturday as the festival began to wrap up; it ran from March 27th to April 11th.  I hopped on a bus on Saturday morning for the trip, which was sponsored by Sophomore Initiatives.  Just $5 got the 20 students who attended transportation to and from Washington D.C.  Participants were then free to independently explore the festival and the city’s sights for the day.

While the blossoms on the National Mall had fallen off due to unusually hot temperatures, there were quite a few trees scattered around the city that were still in full bloom.  The many tourists from all over the country and world still seemed to enjoy the festivities on the beautiful, sunny day.  The morning brought a parade that shut down the streets.  The children especially seemed to enjoy this portion of the festival, which was complete with bands, floats and special performances.  As the parade came to an end, a large portion of the crowd dispersed to hit up the typical tourists spots.

My friends and I were able to see a great deal in one day.  Some highlights were the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.  We also took in some of the city’s great museums including the Smithsonian and the Holocaust Memorial Museum.  Washington D.C.’s museums all feature free admission which is great for the typical college student’s suffering bank account! 

We wrapped up the day by hitting up the Cherry Blossom Festival’s Sakura Matsuri, a Japanese street fair.  Tents selling delicious Japanese food and fun souvenirs took over the streets, which were blocked off from traffic.  The annual festival is the country’s largest one-day exhibit of Japanese culture and is sponsored by the Japan-American Society of Washington D.C.  Young and old were seen taking in music and dance performances and enjoying fun activities like arts and crafts. 

When the time came to board the bus we were all tired from the busy day but satisfied with all the sights we got to see.  While Sunday marked the end of the Cherry Blossom Festival, there are still quite a few trees in bloom.  Try to catch them in the next few days before the blossoms fall off.  This week is calling for beautiful weather in DC and the MARC train will get you there for just $7.  With so many fun free activities, D.C. makes the perfect day trip for the cash-strapped student.