In Bloom: 19 Highlights From the National Cherry Blossom Festival and Other Events

The festival’s annual Pink Tie Party, presented by ANA, took place March 22 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. The event, which was produced and managed by Linder Global Events, featured ceiling projections of cherry blossom art. Fathom Creative produced graphic design elements, and Projection helmed audiovisual and lighting. Design Foundry provided decor, furniture rentals, and staging. AFR Furniture Rental provided additional rentals.

A pink swing set photo booth from Chase featured a backdrop of paper petals.

Servers wearing floral dresses and headpieces served guests drinks from wine glasses that hung from “trees” attached to tricycles. The act, provided by Skylark Creative Group, is called the "Pedal n’ Pour Penny-farthing."

On-theme, pink-hued eats included beet mousse with goat cheese and lobster from Arlington, Virginia-based restaurant Barley Mac.

Gift bags displayed a cherry blossom print and were stuffed with hot pink tissue paper.

The festival's opening ceremony, co-presented by the Japanese Foundation, took place March 23 at Warner Theater. The event featured performances inspired by traditional and contemporary Japanese culture, including one by Skylark Circus, a group of entertainers from Skylark Creative Group. The festival and the Webster Group handled production, while audiovisual and stage design were handled by EventEQ.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live, a show inspired by the manga of the same name, had its North American debut at the ceremony.

Artechouse, a Washington-based company and event space that specializes in interactive, digital art experiences, opened its latest seasonal exhibition, “In Peak Bloom,” on March 20. Running through May 27, the exhibition celebrates spring and women in the arts and tech, with five immersive installations created by women artists and women-led art collectives. "Hana Fubuki" is an audiovisual installation that refers to “Sakura snow,” or the way falling cherry blossom leaves can resemble a snowfall. Movements from attendees powers the installation, which combines woodblock print techniques of traditional Ukiyo-e art with 3-D animations and interactive technology. The installation was created by Akiko Yamashita with Sachiko Yamashita and calligrapher and type designer Mikitype.

Sakaba is an augmented-reality cocktail bar created in house by Artechouse. Using an app, guests who hold their phone up to drink coasters can witness cherry blossoms and dragons come to life and interact with their cocktail. The bar and A.R. experience made an appearance at the Pink Tie Party.

“Blooming” is a digital installation powered by biometric sensors, created by Korean-American artist Lisa Park. The installation presents a life-size cherry blossom tree that responds to physical contact between two to four participants. When participants stand in front of the tree and hold hands or hug, the tree blooms; when they let go, the tree withers back to a pre-bloomed state.

Artechouse tapped Design Foundry to create “Enchanted Garden,” a mixed-media installation inspired by the ancient Japanese religion of Shinto. The garden features works created with natural and recycled mediums such as metal, felt, sand, and straw, interwoven with resin and wood. The installation also incorporates an augmented-reality experience that tells the story of the Rabbit in the Moon, a Japanese folklore legend.

Drink Company’s third annual cherry blossom-theme pop-up bar in Washington is open through April 21 at 1839 7th St., N.W. This year, the bar’s special projects team, Matt Fox and Adriana Salame-Aspiazu, took inspiration from the Fontaine de L’Encelade at the Palace of Versailles in France. The space features more than 10,000 Japanese cherry blossoms, peonies, and roses that cover the ceiling, walls, and wooden trellises.

Artist Andrew Funk created murals for the pop-up, which include a landscape inspired by the city's Tidal Basin.

Another room is devoted to ramen, with art that includes a sculpture of foam pool noodles and giant chopsticks, surrounded by hanging replicas of fish cakes and scallions. Chef Hiro Mitsui, who helms the Uzu ramen stall at Union Market, sells ramen at the pop-up.

Head of bar concepts Paul Taylor created cocktails with Japanese-inspired flavors, including the Honey See, Honeydew. The cocktail features sake, Americano vermouth, shio koji (fermented sake grains made into a tea, then into syrup), cucumber, honeydew, and absinthe.

Mandarin Oriental is celebrating cherry blossom season with a hotel package and specialty cocktails. The Petal Passion cocktail includes Grand Marnier, prosecco, strawberry and mint syrup, served in a glass covered in honey and cherry blossom petals.

To celebrate the start of spring, Shake Shack debuted its limited-time Cherry Blossom Shake at American locations. The light pink drink, which has been available at the burger chain’s Japan locations, is made with vanilla frozen custard blended with cherry blossom syrup and pink chocolate curls.

Outside of Washington, other venues across the country are celebrating cherry blossom season with cocktails. Nashville-based American restaurant Henley serves the High Class Evening, which features Toki Japanese whiskey and dry vermouth, balanced with aloe and a splash of soda. The drink is garnished with a floral blossom.

Tao Downtown in New York serves a Tokyo Rose cocktail, which includes Ketel One Botanical Rose vodka, grapefruit, Aperol, and rosé wine.