
The National Cherry Blossom Festival invites marching bands from across the country to join hundreds of performers, volunteers and specialty
participants to be showcased in a pageantry of color and entertainment that is the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade presented by Events DC.
Each year, the Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Tokyo to Washington, DC and heralds spring across the country.
Annually in March and April, the Festival welcomes over one million people to the nation's capital for 25 days of programming focused on
traditional and contemporary arts and culture, community spirit, and the environment.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade culminates the four-week celebration with a two-hour procession along Constitution Avenue that
draws an on-site audience of more than 150,000 and is nationally syndicated to an estimated 82% of US television markets (check local listings for dates and times).
In Washington, D.C., the parade will be broadcast on ABC7 and NewsChannel 8 beginning at 12 Noon on April 13.
A trip to Washington, D.C. provides great educational opportunities for marching band students. The 1-mile parade route travels along historic
Constitution Avenue, beginning at 7th Street and ending at 17th Street. Along the way it passes the National Archives, the Department of
Justice, Smithsonian Museums, the Washington Monument and the White House.
The parade accepts marching bands consisting of 100 members or more. Bands are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year with an
ultimate deadline of September 15 in the year prior to the parade.
• Austintown-Fitch High School Band, Austintown, Ohio
• Ballou High School Band, Washington, D.C.
• Blue Springs South High School Band, Blue Springs, Missouri
• Bulloch Blues Marching Band, Bulloch County, Georgia
• Chapparells Baton & Drum Corps, Akron, Ohio
• East Central High School Band, St. Leon, Indiana
• Golden Isles Marching Band, Brunswick, Georgia
• Hoover High School Band, Alabama
• Melbourne High School Band, Florida
• Oak Mountain High School Band, Birmingham, Alabama
• Pearl High School Band, Mississippi
• Saraland High School Band, Alabama
• Parade viewing is free and open to the public on Constitution Avenue between 9th and 15th streets.
• Grandstand seating is available for $20-$27 at several prime locations along the parade route.
• Ticket information and a group ticket order form is available online at
NationalCherryBlossomFestival.org.
• Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area offers countless educational opportunities for marching bands to explore while in the region for the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. For ideas of
attractions to include on your itinerary, visit www.washington.org.