DC hosts thousands for annual Sakura Matsuri-Japanese Street Festival

WTOP/Sandra Jones

WTOP/Sandra Jones

WTOP/Sandra Jones

Thousands gathered for the annual National Cherry Blossom Parade on Saturday, but the fun and festivities didn’t stop there — the Japanese Street Festival in D.C. attracted its fair share of visitors too.

Along Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest between 3rd and 7th streets, many festival goers, including 7-year-old Cameron Smith, stood in long lines to experience Japan’s rich culture.

“It was fantastic. I love it,” Smith said, highlighting a bunch of swords seen at vendor stands and exhibitions along the road.

The Sakura Matsuri-Japanese Street Festival featured everything from traditional food to artwork. Among the activities first-time visitor Gale King said she enjoyed: seeing the performers alongside her grandson.

“I did like seeing the people in costume,” King said. “I prepaid like everyone else, so the line was very long to get in, but it moved very quickly. And we took Metro, we paid attention to what they said on WTOP, so I got to give my grandson that experience, too.”

“I’ve been coming for, I don’t know, off and on for 10 years, and it’s grown a lot. And it was really enjoyable,” Heather Giles, one of many annual visitors to the festival, told WTOP.

The festival continues Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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