DC's Cherry Blossom Parade will be held tomorrow regardless of whether the govt closes.

[FSogol]

From their website: "The National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade will go on regardless of the potential government shutdown, thanks to the exceptional support of the Metropolitan Police Department. If there is a government shutdown, the Parade route will be altered, affecting some of the grandstand viewing areas and ticket holders. Details of those grandstand sections potentially affected will be released shortly.

The Sakura Matsuri-Japanese Street Festival will also go on as planned.
In the event of a government shutdown, the Blossom Kite Festival and performances at Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument grounds will be postponed."
http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/


For any DU'ers in the area: The Sakura Matsuri-Japanese Street Festival is a lot of fun. More info: http://www.sakuramatsuri.org/

Edit for spelling.

[kimi]

1. Yep, I went.

Lots of people, weather cooperated - at least no rain, although it was cloudy - lots of food, traditional crafts and demonstrations, and some very fun music. I'd never heard of Spirit+Noise before - they're a 4-member group which includes the usual bass, electric guitar, and drums, but also adds in a shamisen, a traditional 3-stringed Japanese instrument similar to a guitar. I've lived in Japan and heard the shamisen played before, but had no idea it could rock! There were martial arts demonstrations, activities for kids, Taiko drumming acts - lots of fun. Kinda sorry I never went before, but I'm glad I did this year.

Edit: And importantly, a lot of the proceeds from this year - in some cases, as in Spirit+Noise's, 100% - are going for tsunami and earthquake relief in Japan. There were some booths with memorial and condolence books for visitors to sign, and the people there were genuinely grateful for interest and concern. Some of the pictures are truly horrific. Yes, I'm really glad that I went this year.