Tag Archives: Washington

National Cherry Blossom Festival

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. This year’s festival will be MARCH 20-APRIL 14!

The predicted peak blooming period of the cherry blossoms for this year is  – MARCH 26–30.

cherry blossom

They have Free Apps for iPhone & Droid to help you keep track of the festival events and share your festival experiences via social media.

Here are some of the highlights:

Family Day – Saturday & Sunday, March 23-24, 2013
National Building Museum
401 F Street, NW
Metro Judiciary Square, Red Line
Sat – 10 am-4 pm & Sun- 11 am-4 pm

Smithsonian Kite Festival – Saturday, March 30, 2013
Washington Monument Grounds
10 am-4:30 pm

Fireworks Festival – Saturday, April 6, 2013
Waterfront Park – 600-900 Water Street, SW
1-9 pm
Fireworks at 8-9 pm

Cherry Blossom Parade – Saturday, April 13, 2013
Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th Streets, NW
10 am- 12 pm

There are many more great events, visit the festival website for more information.

Helpful links:

Cherry Blossom Festival Website
National Park Service Bloom Watch
Metro Website (use the trip planner feature on this website to find the metro options, taking metro is much better than driving for the festival events)

Smithsonian Folk Life Festival 6/27-7/1 & 7/4-8

The Folklife Festival will take place June 27-July 1 and July 4-8.

The Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage.  Attracting more than one million visitors yearly, the two-week long celebration is the largest annual cultural event in the United States.

The Festival is held outdoors on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between the Smithsonian museums. There is no admission charge. Visitors should dress for hot and humid weather. Parking around the Mall is extremely limited, so visitors are advised to use Metrorail. The Smithsonian station (Mall exit) is at the Festival site. Federal Triangle and National Archives stations are close by. For general Smithsonian visitor information, call 202.633.1000.

Festival hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with special events taking place most evenings.

I highly recommend that you visit their website to plan your visit http://www.festival.si.edu/

Spring in the DC Area – Capitol Hill

We have a Special Guest Blogger who has written a series of posts highlighting places to visit during spring in DC. Sara is a longtime host mom in our cluster.
Post 2 of a 5 part series. To read all the posts click HERE.

Capitol Hill

2306106620_893951e1b1_nWalking around the Capitol Hill will also give you a taste of what nature has to offer. In this neighborhood behind the Capitol and away from the Mall, the house plots are small, and many homes plant to maximize the beauty of their small gardens. If you’ve not been to Eastern Market:  http://www.easternmarket-dc.org/default.asp?ContentID=1 on a Saturday morning when the Farmer’s Market and arts & crafts vendors display their goods, this is a good season for it. I highly recommend Market Lunch, although lines can be really long. While the softshell crabs are not for the squeamish (yes, you can really eat the entire crab), they are delicious. Locals won’t eat oysters in a month that does not have an “r” in it, so there’s one month left until the long summer without them. For meat lovers, there is the Carolina style pulled pork (vinegary).

Photo: Flick rjs1322

Spring in the DC Area – Brookside Gardens & U.S. Botanical Gardens

We have a Special Guest Blogger who has written a series of posts highlighting places to visit during spring in DC. Sara is a longtime host mom in our cluster.
Post 1 of a 5 part series. To read all the posts click HERE.

Spring is very special in Washington, winter (however brief or long you felt it was) is behind us, and nature puts on a spectacular show. It’s worth heading outdoors to see the color. While some of the plants may seem familiar to you, there are local displays of color, like the redbud, which is in full bloom now. The dogwood might be native or Asian, and it just opened up. For those of you living in Takoma Park, you’ll soon find out why it is nicknamed Azalea City.


conservatory_springshowBrookside Gardens
There are some great places to see what nature has to offer, and most of them are free. Brookside Gardens http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/, adjacent to Wheaton Regional Park, is a great place to walk around, with its duck ponds. Plants are arranged by type – with roses, azaleas, and aquatic plants are together. Many plants are labeled if you are interested in learning what they are. Children like to run on the footpaths and my kids liked to “bang on the sculpture” with their hands when they were younger. Don’t let the closed gates keep you out – they open for cars and pedestrians – but not for deer. There are footpaths to walk into Wheaton Regional Park from Brookside Gardens.

U.S. Botanical Gardens
If you love roses, then the rose garden at the Botanical Gardens is beautiful and free: http://www.usbg.gov/, just southwest of the Capitol Building. The indoor conservatory does seasonal displays. One of my favorite places to sit when the wisteria blooms is the Mall side of the National Gallery. It’s peppery-smelling blossoms are a spring treat.

White House Easter Egg Roll 2012 – Enter the Ticket Lottery

From the White House website:

“On Monday April 9, 2012, the First Family will host the134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. This year’s theme is “Let’s Go, Let’s Play, Let’s Move” and more than 35,000 people will be joining us on the South Lawn for games, stories, cooking demonstrations and, of course, the traditional egg roll on the Lawn. Starting at 10 am EST on March 1 you can click here to enter the lottery and win a chance to join the fun (lottery opens on March 1 at 10 am EST and closes at 10 am EST on March 5, 2012).”

Enter for your chance to win a ticket to join the fun! Here is a picture of Ingrid at the Easter Egg Roll last year.

What is the White House Easter Egg Roll? (answer from recreation.gov)

“The White House Easter Egg Roll is a tradition that dates to 1878. Originally, young children in Washington, D.C. would flock to Capitol Hill every Monday after Easter for egg rolling and a day of activities. Members of Congress grew tired of the growing crowds and passed an Act of Congress which prohibited egg rolling on the Capitol grounds. The event was moved to the White House in 1878 after President Hayes was approached by young children to use his backyard to roll eggs. Nearly every Easter since, the White House has invited young children to roll eggs on the White House lawn.

Today, the Easter Egg Roll has grown from a few local children rolling eggs on the White House Lawn to become the largest event held at the White House, filled with live entertainment, sports and interactive cooking demos. And, of course, the traditional rolling of the Easter eggs.”

National Book Festival – This Weekend, September 24 & 25

Book Fest

Come to the 11th Annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival is free and open to the public.

Saturday, Sept. 24: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 25: 1 to 5:30 p.m.

Visit the website for more information: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/.

Getting there: Take Metro Orange or Blue Line to Smithsonian station.

Soccer on the National Mall

On Saturday,  September 17 we had an au pair soccer match on the National Mall in DC.  Our team represented Maryland and we played against a team of au pairs from Virginia.  We cheered for our team and they played hard.  I think we represented Maryland au pairs very well, even though we did not win.  Lots of people stopped, watched and took pictures.  After the soccer match, we toured the U.S. Capitol.

Click on the images to view them larger.  Click here to see even more pictures from this event in our Cluster Photobucket Album.

July 4th Celebrations & Fireworks in Maryland

fireworks 2005In addition to the big July 4th celebrations on the National Mall in DC, there are many other local fireworks displays in the area. Please note that a few are offering events and fireworks on days other than July 4. So, you may be able to make it to more than one fireworks display.

Annapolis, Annapolis City Dock, Annapolis, Maryland. (410) 263-1183. Parade and fireworks: Parade starts at 6:30 p.m. Fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Parade Route: West Street, around Church Circle, down Main Street to the City Dock. Naval Academy’s Concert Band will perform at the end of City Dock just prior to the fireworks.

Bowie Allen Pond Park, Bowie, Maryland. (301) 809-3078. Entertainment, food and fireworks from 3-10:30 pm.

College Park University of Maryland, College Park. Parking Lot 1, off Campus Drive near the University Boulevard/Adelphi Road entrance. (301) 864-8877. Food and music start at 7 p.m., with fireworks around 9 p.m.

Greenbelt Buddy Attick Park, 555 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt, Maryland. (301) 397-2200. Entertainment begins at 4 p.m. Fireworks at dusk.

Laurel July 2, 2011. Granville Gude Park, Laurel Lake, Laurel, Maryland. (301) 725-5300 ext. 44. Parade at 11 a.m. Car show following and Fireworks at dusk.

National Harbor – Gaylord National Resort. Fireworks and Summer Festival, July 3, 2011, beginning at 6:30 p.m., tickets are required.

Six Flags America, Mitchellville, Maryland. (301) 249-1500. The amusement park sponsors a spectacular fireworks display on July 3rd and 4th. Enjoy a full day of family entertainment.

Takoma Park Takoma Park Middle School, 7611 Piney Branch Road, Takoma Park, Maryland. (301) 270-6876. Parade at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Carroll and Ethan Allen Avenues. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

Information from http://dc.about.com

Newseum Offering Family Fun Deal

newseum free

From the Newseum website:

July 1 through Sept. 5, 2011, youth visitors 18 and under get free admission to the Newseum with one paid adult admission. Offer is limited to up to 10 kids. This promotion is not valid in combination with other discounts. Summer Fun Deal tickets, like all Newseum tickets, are valid for two consecutive days.

Ranked by TripAdvisor as the No. 1 attraction in the nation’s capital, the Newseum has something for everyone.

The Newseum offers a wonderful experience for everyone in the family. From the Pulitzer Prize Photographs gallery, Elvis, the 4-D theater to the Newseum’s interactive exhibits. There is a lot to explore and a lot to learn at every age level.