What: National Cherry Blossom Festival
Where: Washington, D.C.
When: March 29 – April 13, 2008
Why: Usher in spring with a visit to the nation’s pink and white blooming capital. The cherry blossom festival runs for two event-packed weeks, with daily cultural performances, a kite festival, a fireworks show, cruises in the Potomac and of course, the parade. Other attractions include the country’s largest Japanese street festival on April 12, featuring Japanese art, vendors, cuisine, martial arts demonstrations and live performances of traditional and popular Japanese culture. For more information and a list of events, check out nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.
Cost: Seeing the cherry blossoms is free, as are most of the events. Though you can watch the parade from the streets at no cost, seats in the Parade Grandstand run $15, but your ticket stub will garner you free admission to Madame Tussauds Washington, D.C.
How to get there: Amtrak has a number of lines that will get you to Washington, D.C.’s Union Square station from New York Penn Station in about three hours. Check amtrak.com for a list of schedules and fares. Once there, D.C.’s Metro will get you to all National Cherry Blossom Festival events. The Smithsonian Metrorail Station (blue and orange lines) is the most popular during the Festival, but if you’re looking to avoid the crowds, give yourself ten extra minutes to walk around D.C. and use the L’Enfant Plaza Station exit at 7th Street & Maryland Avenue (blue, yellow and green lines). If you’re looking for a place to stay or other things to do while in town, the festival website has a guide to help you.
Photos: Courtesy of Eve Roytshteyn
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram