What is the best time to see the cherry blossoms in DC?
The best time is during peak bloom, when 70% of the Yoshino cherry trees around the Tidal Basin have opened. That window typically falls in the last week of March or the first days of April, lasts roughly seven to ten days, and shifts year to year based on winter temperatures.
In brief
The best time to see Washington DC's cherry blossoms is during peak bloom, the roughly seven-to-ten-day window when at least 70% of the Yoshino cherry trees around the Tidal Basin have opened. That window most often falls in the last week of March or the first few days of April, though the date shifts every year based on how the winter played out. Go early in the morning, on a weekday, for the best light and the thinnest crowds.
What 'peak bloom' actually means
The National Park Service defines peak bloom as the day when 70% of the Yoshino cherry trees, one of about a dozen varieties along the National Mall, have blossomed. It's a milestone, not the whole show. The trees typically look glorious for about a week around it.
The NPS has kept peak bloom records since 1921. The overall average since then is April 3. Since 1990, the average has kept shifting earlier, and the last six years have all seen peak bloom in late March. The record books span a wide range: the earliest peak bloom on record was March 15 in 1990; the latest was April 18 in 1958.
Recent peak bloom dates
Recent NPS-observed peak bloom dates: 2026 was March 26; 2025 was March 28; 2024 was March 17; 2023 was March 23; 2022 was March 22 to 25; 2021 was March 28. The 2024 date was extraordinary: the blossoms reached peak bloom on March 17, 2024, the second-earliest on record.
Climate is pushing the timing. NPS National Mall spokesperson Mike Litterst has said "we are certainly seeing a correlation between the rise of average temperatures and earlier blossoming of the cherry blossoms."
How long will the blossoms hold?
Once peak bloom hits, the blossoms generally hold for 7 to 10 days before petal drop, though high winds can shorten that window significantly. Late-season freezes, rain, or even windy weather can significantly impact how long the trees stay in peak bloom. A calm, cool stretch after peak bloom is the best-case scenario for visitors.
One thing to keep in mind: the National Park Service says it's impossible to nail down the peak bloom date with any certainty more than 10 days in advance. The NPS issues an initial bloom forecast in late February and updates it weekly. Check the NPS Bloom Watch page or Cherry Blossom Watch before you book anything.
When to go for the best experience
Peak bloom weekends are genuinely packed. During peak bloom weekends, the Tidal Basin sees 100,000 or more visitors per day. The single most effective move is to go early. Sunrise, ideally on a weekday, is the answer. The Tidal Basin has no gate and the memorials never close, so early morning is free, quiet, and beautifully lit, with still water for reflections and almost no crowds. Visiting early in the morning or on weekdays is recommended to avoid the largest crowds.
On average, over 1.5 million tourists travel to DC to observe peak bloom annually, generating an estimated $100 million in revenue in the District. Hotels in Foggy Bottom and Georgetown fill up fast. Book six to eight weeks out if you're targeting peak bloom weekend.
Getting there
The cherry blossom trees are accessible via the Smithsonian Metro stop on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines. Driving is possible, but parking can be difficult to come by and traffic can be heavy. Parking in the Tidal Basin area can be extremely limited and is likely to fill up early in the day. Metro or a bike share is almost always faster during bloom season.
Beyond the Tidal Basin
The Tidal Basin loop is the iconic shot, but it's far from the only option.
East Potomac Park (Hains Point): The 4.1-mile Hains Point Loop is lined with nearly 500 Kwanzan cherry trees. The Potomac River, Anacostia River, and Washington Channel are all visible from the path. Wide, bikeable, and far less crowded than the Basin.
Kenwood, Bethesda: This area near Bethesda offers a display of over 1,200 Yoshino cherry trees, similar to those found at the Tidal Basin. It can be accessed via the Capital Crescent Trail from Bethesda Metro. The Kenwood neighborhood cherry blossoms reach peak bloom a few days after the DC trees, so if you miss the main event, you can still catch the season there.
U.S. National Arboretum, Northeast DC: Often overlooked by tourists anchored to the Mall, the National Arboretum features its own collection of flowering cherries set across 446 acres. The drive-through format means you can cover serious ground without fighting pedestrian congestion.
Lower Senate Park, Capitol Hill: Lower Senate Park, near the US Capitol, has more than 100 cherry trees lining its fountain and walkways.
Dumbarton Oaks, Georgetown: This historic estate features cherry blossoms alongside magnolia trees within its landscaped gardens. Note that you'll need to purchase a ticket to enter the garden area.
The Kwanzan cherry trees bloom about two weeks later than the Yoshino. That means East Potomac Park, which has a heavy concentration of Kwanzans, can extend your season well into mid-April even after the Tidal Basin has dropped its petals.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
