National Cherry Blossom Festival!!!

Obligatory Sakura Tree Picture

      So a billion years ago back in April, I was lucky enough to attend the Nation Cherry Blossom Festival that takes place every year in Washington D.C. It was my first time going and let me tell you I did not know what to expect. In my head, the event would be similar to those festivals you see in those typical high school anime, where all the girls are dressed up in Kimonos, street vendors are selling ramen and meat on a stick in little huts, children are playing that game where you try to catch a fish with that paper net thing, etc. It was fun but over all it wasn't that spectacular. A big problem I had was the lack of Japanese culture. Don't get me wrong, they had a lot of Japanese related showcases and ceremonies, but for example, the parade had a lot of random acts like this giant Scooby-Doo float.

Scooby-Doo

Random, but pretty cool

Because what's a parade without the Subway Sub?

Clowns.

    The actual festival gave me mad convention vibes with all the cosplay and was probably the funniest part for me. Unfortunately there was one awkward moment I had to endure. If you might recall from the videos on my YouTube channel, I attended Zenkaikon in Lancaster, PA this year. Not only did I go, but I was granted a press pass, thanks to crunchyroll, which allowed me to interact with the guests and get much better con coverage than I'm used to. One of the guests I was lucky enough to interview was geek specific comedian Uncle Yo, and boy he was a great guy! So when I spotted him hosting an event on one of the main stages, I waited patiently and when it ended, I went up to him to reminiscence our Zenkaikon experiences and "catch up." But to my dismay, he...didn't...remember me...at all. ;.; At this point, my esteem was too far gone to try to jog his memory, so I simply asked for a picture and sulked away. Now, I know he's a busy man, and  he probably met hundreds of people between Zenkaikon and the festival, but I still felt kind of embarrassed.

Me holding in my tears ;_;

Shrine Exhibit

Why did I even take this picture when there are no Sakura trees in site?

Cute Luigi and Waluigi cosplayers

  Even though I went down to Washington D.C for the festival, I couldn't pass up the chance to explore the city and all its attractions. So I made sure to set aside some time to go down to the Smithsonian Museum as well as visit some historical land marks.

Smithsonian

Monkey!

From the Martin Luther King Monument

The Washington Monument 

Me becoming a caveman

I left D.C. Saturday night so I didn't take part in any of the Sunday festivities. Also, I heard there was one of these in California. Does anyone know if that one is any better?

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