Norton to March in National Cherry Blossom Festival, Saturday, Opening Lucrative Tourist Season for Hometown D.C.
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will march in the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade tomorrow, Saturday, April 12, 2014, beginning at 10:00 a.m., at the intersection of 7th St. and Independence Ave NW. Norton will march directly behind the Ballou High School marching band, and the parade will proceed down Constitution Ave. Norton has walked in every Cherry Blossom Parade since coming to Congress to help emphasize its importance to hometown D.C.’s tourist economy, and to welcome visitors, along with spring, to the District.
“After enduring the coldest winter in memory, this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival is a particularly welcome occasion,” said Norton. “We march not only for the beauty of the trees that mark the coming of spring and symbolize our enduring friendship with Japan. As D.C. residents, we march to remind visitors that they have come to a home town, not only official Washington.”
The National Cherry Blossom Festival unofficially marks the beginning of D.C.'s tourist season, and generates more than $100 million for the District's local economy. The parade pays tribute to the gift of cherry blossom trees from Japan to the United States, and the friendship between the two countries.
Last weekend, Norton spoke at the 16th annual Chery Blossom Freedom Walk at the National Japanese American Memorial, and at the Japanese Stone Lantern Lighting Ceremony at the Tidal Basin.
Published: April 11, 2014