The National Cherry Blossom Festival is underway in Washington, D.C., despite the fact that there was a light dusting of snow on the first day. The yearly event celebrates the beautiful Japanese cherry trees that a Tokyo's former mayor, Yukio Ozaki, gave to the U.S. as a gift in 1912, according to NPR.
There are 3,000 of the trees in the capital, and it's around this time of year that they begin to show their beautiful flowers. The festival lasts through April 10 and will draw as many as one million tourists to the nation's capital.
Over the course of the festival, visitors will have the chance to see various lectures, exhibitions and performances that celebrate the arrival of spring flowers such as the cherry blossoms.
This year's festival may be more somber in tone due to the recent disaster that struck Japan on March 11.
"Because the relationship with Japan is the heart of the festival, we celebrate Japanese culture, we want to communicate with people how to connect and how to contribute to support the [disaster relief] fund," the president of the festival, Diana Mayhew told the news source.
According to the event's official website, the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade will take place on April 9.