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Subscribe to RSSIt’s that time of year, when throngs of visitors descend on Washington D.C. to admire fragrant blooms, pose serenely in front of the nation’s monuments, and enjoy marching bands and ornate floats.
But organizers now are scrambling to keep the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s signature parade on track in the face of a looming government shutdown.
A White House official warned Wednesday that a government shutdown would mean the cancellation of the annual parade, scheduled for 10 AM on Saturday – the day after a funding deadline for congressional negotiators.
A festival organizer pushed back Wednesday, saying that all is not yet lost for would-be parade goers, even if a deal to keep the government’s lights on falls through.
“There’s a lot of speculation out there that the event would definitely be canceled if the government shuts down, but that’s not the case at this point,” said festival spokesperson Danielle Piacente, who added that the event’s staff are “exploring every avenue possible” to make the show go on even if a funding gap occurs.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization primarily funded by private sponsors, so funding for the event itself would not be in jeopardy because of the budget standoff. “It’s not a money question,” Piacente said.
But support from the National Park Service, the D.C. government, and local law enforcement could be impacted by a shutdown, possibly derailing the parade if safety, logistics, and cleanup plans can’t be executed.
While organizers are “realistic” about the likelihood that the parade will go as planned, they point out that many other events that are part of the two-week-long Cherry Blossom celebration – including a Japanese street festival and a free public concert – will not be affected by a shutdown at all.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is expected to draw over a million visitors this year, providing the D.C. region with an influx of tourism dollars and visitors curious to learn more about their nation’s capitol.
Luckily for those tourists, the cherry blossoms themselves are in dazzling bloom, without regard for the standoff on Capitol Hill.
Which, due the fact that the D.C. government is expected to suspend trash pickup in the event of a shutdown, will hopefully make the nation’s Capitol a bit less… unfragrant.
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OMG I can see the cherry blossoms on Glenn Beck's chlakboard as an assiostion "destruction of capitalism."
Beck will prove it because he'll get photos from ancient Chinese and Japanese literature and then post them next to President Obama's picture and all the communist born before Obama,
Yep, Beverly, he will do this whole chalkboard diatribe and draw lots of symbols and arrows, and wind up with the President being in cahoots with Japan to take over America. Darn those Cherry Blossoms!
newdayDAWNING10
Yep, Beverly, he will do this whole chalkboard diatribe and draw lots of symbols and arrows, and wind up with the President being in cahoots with Japan to take over America. Darn those Cherry Blossoms!
Or maybe it'll be something like --- if the President doesn't use Paul Ryan's plan-- it's because President Obama preferred to use the Kamikaze plot the Japanese used in WW11 so he could destroy capitalism.
I think you may be onto something Beverly!
Ahhhh...cherry blossoms! Just the thought of them makes me happy. We're still sweeping up sand and road salt.
wow, if you care that much about the cherry blossoms festival then you might have bigger problems at home.
this site make me laugh, ha ha.
I think Beverly is a twit
Good gosh, we're going to lose the Cherry Blossom Festival!
Oh, the humanity.
Its worse than that Joanna, how are we going to lament the loss of the Cherry festival without cowboy poetry. Just silent tears I guess.
The tourists can come up to Maine instead. I'm sure we'll think of something to have a festival in honor of, we're good at that. I know there's a new Reny's Dept store opening on Congress St. That's exciting.
Maybe Obama can sign some kind of Executive Order funding the Cherry Blossom Festival. There has got to be a few billion dollars he's got stashed somewhere for these kinds of emergencies. Or maybe shoot off a couple less Tomahawk missiles at Libya. Good Lord, it's for the children!
JoAnnaSmith1
Maybe Obama can sign some kind of Executive Order funding the Cherry Blossom Festival. There has got to be a few billion dollars he's got stashed somewhere for these kinds of emergencies.
That's been debunked. The President is not walking around with stimulus money like Darrel Issa said.
Or maybe shoot off a couple less Tomahawk missiles at Libya. Good Lord, it's for the children!
Like some used to fly over NASCAR.
F/A-18 jets fly over the track before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., Sunday, April 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Steve Sheppard)
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/photos/2011/apr/03/187923/#ixzz1ImdheAOB
Got any idea how much that might be; JoAnnaSmith1?
Cherry Blossom Festival cancelled due to Democratic inaction of 2010(that would be the truth) ! The Democratic version of the truth: Nancy Pelosi" We did not have a bill to pass , so that we could know what was in it, so we all went on vacation". Obama " I do not have all the facts but I believe the Cherry Blossom Committee is acting stupidly". Thousands of lemmings (oops I meant libs) "It is all George Bush's, and Dick Cheneys fault".
Will O even be there or will he be on the fundraiser trail? He should be raising money to help keep the gov't in business instead of worrying about something that is still 2 yrs away.
I can see it now this will be the fault of the democrats or some other party because they wanted $$$ greed the worst of the seven deadly sins lol o poor cheery bolssom too suffer such a fate of neglect because of man's stupity. wo until the bolssom hopefully somebody will get to admire your beauty before its over..
Bev. Why are youwatching so much Glen beck? I'm sure all of this is Bush's fault.
It's hilarious how various left wingers rant and rave about Glenn beck and his show and yet, for some weird reason, know exactly how he conducts his show, down to the chalkboards and arrows....are you all closet Beckers? The majority of people will be just fine without the national parks system being operational. When was the last time you went to a national park? It's just another waste of taxpayer money. I'm sure there are plenty of private organizations that could run the operation just as well without taxpayer funds being used and let those who want to use the system, pay for it. Another socialist program we can do without for now.