Results tagged “cherryblossoms”

On the peak Saturday of the Cherry Blossom Festival -- one of the historically busier days on the calendar for our venerable Metro -- it's obviously going to be quite crowded on trains and in platforms. But as the twilight of this morning's activities arrives, and the city prepares for this evening's sports-related subway throngs by engaging in a mass pillow fight, it's encouraging that the Metro website is currently reporting no official disruptions in rail service. With a tip of the cap to reader InMasonicShadows, Unsuck DC Metro put together a twittercap of this morning's biggest problem: incredibly long lines to enter suburban Metro stations. All things considered, if that's the biggest issue with Metro today, then there's not too much to complain about. (Now let's collectively find some wood, and get knockin'.)

And it's a good photo! But whassa matter with Sanjay Suchak that he can't upload some photos of some cherry blossoms like everybody else?

This weekend sure is a busy one. What with the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade is on Saturday morning, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run and 5K Run-Walk on Sunday morning, plus Wizards, DC United and Nationals games all happening on Saturday night, off-peak hours this weekend on Metro are likely to resemble rush hour. In order to keep up, Metro has no weekend track work scheduled, and they've instituted a number of service changes.

Locavore's Delight

The National Cherry Blossom Festival formally kicks off tomorrow, with all that the first weekend of the celebration entails.

This morning the National Park Service announced it has revised the peak bloom dates for D.C.'s famed cherry blossoms, to April 1-4. It's a shorter period than previously predicted, as well as being earlier. They've also added on an overall "Blooming Period," from March 28-April 11, which conveniently overlaps nearly perfectly with the dates of the National Cherry Blossom Festival (March 28-April 12).

It's undeniably still winter outside, but today we're provided with a tangible reminder that spring is so close we can almost taste it. The National Cherry Blossom Festival had their annual press conference this morning at the Newseum, where they announced the peak bloom dates for D.C.'s famous pink blossoms: April 3 through 9. That's the time period when National Park Service horticulturists believe the cherry blossoms will be at their fullest and most beautiful.

The Cherry Blossom parade will modify many downtown Metrobus routes this weekend. The parade starts this Saturday at 10 a.m. and marches on Constitution Avenue between 7th and 17th streets, and will force the 5A, 13, 32, 34, 35, 36, 52, 54, 66, 70, 80, P6, S2, S4 and V8 to alter their routes until about 1 p.m. If you plan on taking any of these buses tomorrow, you should expect delays.

If you’ve been down to the Tidal Basin to see the Cherry Blossoms, then you’ve probably already revisited the Jefferson Memorial.

We have to assume the folks behind the National Cherry Blossom Festival know what they're getting into with this one. They're asking for your very best photographs from this year's Tidal Basin blossom display for their annual photo contest, and judging by the approximately 600 billion just in the DCist Flickr pool, they better have a lot of server space ready.

No doubt many of you trekked down to the Tidal Basin this weekend to check out the cherry blossoms during their peak bloom (which is predicted to last until Thursday). As many rightly feel, this area is the height of "D.C. scenic," with the gorgeous trees lining the waterside and the Jefferson and Washington Monuments in view.

So, let's see if we have all the enormous events happening in the city this weekend down: the National Marathon on Saturday, Opening Day at Nationals Park on Sunday, the beginning of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, and the 42nd Annual Smithsonian Kite Festival. Did we forget anything?

Both the Post and WTOP have stories this morning announcing the National Park Service's decision to close the tiny Tidal Basin parking lot during the National Cherry Blossom Festival this year. Talk about overdue ideas. Anyone who's been down to see the blossoms at peak hours over the last decade can tell you that the additional traffic caused by the yahoos who seem to think they'll be able to snag a spot in the lot, which has only 180 parking spaces, is a nuisance that should have been done away with long ago.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival held a press conference this morning to announce the predicted peak blooming dates for Washington, D.C.'s famous flowers. The Post's Going Out Gurus report that Robert DeFeo, the chief horticulturist for the National Park Service, has determined peak dates will be between March 27 and April 3.

Good Morning, Washington. It looks like we survived the full moon, a night of Georgetown-less championship basketball and visit by Yoko Ono. It was worth it to enjoy another day of idyllic weather before it all goes to hell. By Friday the region will be back in the 40's with cloudy skies. As the National Park Service pleads with visitors not to touch, climb or even taunt the Cherry Blossoms, let's hope the expensive...

>> If "gorgeous weather" isn't enough of a reason to get you outside, this weekend's kick-off for the National Cherry Blossom Festival should get you to shake off that winter gloom. Head over to the National Building Museum tomorrow to kick-off the celebration with Family Day events from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the opening ceremony from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Lots of hands-on art activities, like oragami and fruit carving, will keep...

How's that Congress-is-back-in-session traffic treating you this morning, Washington? Seems like everyone and their step-cousin is on their way to the Hill this morning to witness what new Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised will be "the most ethical Congress ever." So we sure hope all you staffers cleaned out your bosses' freezers last night, because this morning will have been too late. In all seriousness, we're definitely looking forward to following the goings on during...

When the posters for the Washington Ballet's production of The Nutcracker hit the streets, accented with cartoon caricatures of George Washington, it was hard not to be skeptical. Would the Capitol dome become a prominent set piece? Would little children running around be designed to symbolize Congress? The possibilities were endless. But the skepticism is unwarranted: Choreographer Septime Webre's production, featuring everything from 19th century carousels to 20th century cherry blossoms, is wonderfully done -...

Written by DCist contributor Colin Peppard Today we look at the battle for Metro funding in Prince William, Governor Kaine’s big vetoes, the future of MetroAccess, and the power of the cherry blossoms!...

Today's evening commute could be a wild one as around 180,000 demonstrators are expected to gather on the Mall this afternoon, many after marching through the downtown area from Meridian Hill Park. The National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice is expected to draw large crowds of supporters in cities across the nation (and has already begun to do so -- some 300,000 gathered yesterday in Dallas). The march through the city will begin around...

This week we saw Verizon's first foray into graffiti advertising fail miserably, as the District levied fines totaling over $20,000 on the telecommunications giant for the illegal use of public space. It was also quite the week for George Mason University, whose students, faculty and administrators rallied around the team and went easy on class attendance, only to see it lose to Florida in its Final Four matchup. We reported on some Hill heavies...

FRIDAY: >> There are few names in modern dance as big as Merce Cunningham. The veteran dancer and choreograhper brings his company to the Kennedy Center tonight and Sat. to perform a few of their paradigmatic pieces, including Fabrications, featuring music by Emanuel Dimas de Melo Pimenta, and Sounddance, with music by David Tudor. These shows are a sure thing. $21 to $50, both shows at 8 p.m. >> Serious ambient and electronic music fans...

Yes, you read correctly -- early this morning, there was a small fire on the Orange Line tracks between the East Falls Church and Ballston Metro stations. Trains were stopped for 10 to 15 minutes as firefighters got the fire under control. The Orange Line is now back to running on schedule. No mention, yet, as to what caused the morning pyrotechnics. Montgomery County Police Restricted from Message Board: WJLA is reporting that Montgomery County...

We've spent time talking about how great it would be if D.C. was a little more free WiFi-friendly than it is -- and thankfully, it soon may be. The Post is reporting this morning that D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams has asked companies to start bidding on a contract to build a free wireless internet network that would cover the majority of the city, including often underserved poorer neighborhoods. The network could become operational in...

News today has it that the U.S. Capitol Police seemed to have forgotten about the First Amendment on Tuesday night, when they arrested anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and Beverly Young, the wife of a Republican representative, at the State of the Union address for wearing "expressive t-shirts." Ironically, Young's shirt was pro-military: "Support the Troops -- Defending Our Freedom." Capitol Police Terrance Gainer issued an apology and dropped the charges against the two. District Claims...

In just a few short weeks, they'll begin to appear around town. No, we're not talking about tourists or Cherry Blossoms, but another fixture of D.C.'s steamy summers - interns. Love them or hate them, they'll descend into congressional offices on Capitol Hill or the Golden Triangle of Nonprofit Power. They'll make lines at Starbucks, swarm Screen on the Green, and stand on the left side of the escalators. They also just might help you...

Holy crap! There was a tornado in the Tidal Basin yesterday, and the rest of the weekend promises to bring another deluge. Nevertheless, we've got some recommendations to keep you dry and having fun. FRIDAY: >> Talented local artrockers Metropolitan hosts a record release party at the Black Cat for their third CD, "The Lines They Get Broken." Aqueduct and Federal City Five open. 9:30, $8. >> The Brindley Brothers, local musicians and owners of...

Good morning, Washington, or, should we say, Happy "Martha is Free!" day? Yes, indeed, the domestic diva walked out of a West Virginia federal prison today, yet walks straight into five months of house arrest. All celebration aside, here's the real news of the day ... Cherry Blossoms, One Month and Counting:The U.S. Park Service finally called it -- the cherry blossoms that frame the Tidal Basin will be in full bloom from April 4-9,...