Cherry Blossom Parade on Saturday

In late March and early April of every year, tourists flock to Washington DC to see the beautiful Cherry Blossom Festival. This year, there is a general sense of disappointment with the weather for the peak blooming period, which was revised to April 1st through 4th. Expect scattered thunderstorms this Friday, but some sunshine with a high of 65 degrees on Saturday, the last day of the peak blooming period.

This Saturday is probably the best time to go out and walk around the Tidal Basin, the centerpiece of the Cherry Blossom Festival, if you have not had the opportunity to see it yet. Saturday is also the day of the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, which runs along Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th Streets from 10am – noon, rain or shine. The parade will feature giant balloons such as Kermit the Frog and Hello Kitty, marching bands and celebrity performers including Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, American Idol second season finalist Kimberley Locke, Grammy award-winning disco diva Thelma Houston, Disney Radio star Joey Page sings, and Miss America 2009, Katie Stam. The Parade will salute Broadway with two musical performances: the cast of Chicago, who is in town at the National Theater until April 12th, will perform “All That Jazz”. MAMMA MIA! Is also slated to perform timeless ABBA classics including Mamma Mia!, Waterloo and Dancing Queen! Hosts for the parade are ABC 7 and NewsChannel 8 anchors Doug McKelway, Alison Starling and Beverly Kirk. The event is, of course, free and open to the public.