Color, Fun Along Constitution Avenue

Family-Friendly Climax of Two-Week Festival Attracts Throngs

The bands played Sousa, a choir sang about peace on Earth and huge balloons floated by during Washington's much-anticipated cherry blossom parade yesterday.

It was the city's yearly salute to its famed cherry blossoms. The parade down Constitution Avenue is the climax of the annual two-week Cherry Blossom Festival, which ends today.

The parade was followed by the annual Sakura Matsuri street festival along Pennsylvania Avenue, a celebration of Japanese culture, food and crafts.

The parade, which included marching bands, giant balloons and military color guards, saw jammed Metro cars, crowds lining the sidewalk for blocks and many, many youngsters.

There were children in strollers, children in backpacks and children on their parents' shoulders.

There were children being fed, children getting their hands licked by passing dogs, children getting wet in the rain and children stamping in puddles.

There were crying children, squirming children, waving children, scared children and, in the end, sleeping children.

"It's great for the family," said Kari Smith of Capitol Hill as her husband, Mark, spooned applesauce into the mouth of their daughter Annika, 1.

Nearby, Burly James Jones, 51, sat in a motorized wheelchair with his wide-eyed, year-old grandson on his lap. Justin had been scared by one of the balloons, his grandfather said.

"Say 'hi,' " Jones, of Fort Washington, urged the child, nicknamed Peacorn. "Say 'How're you doing.' Shake his hand." Justin opened his left hand to reveal a melted piece of candy.

A few blocks away, Ted St. Pierre of Crystal City was removing the socks of his daughter, Ella, 3, as she sat in a stroller. It was humid, and then it rained briefly. "Fun," said St. Pierre as he pulled the stroller's visor over his daughter. "Are you cold, honey?" he asked. The goal was to "see how long we can hold out," he said, laughing.

Among the crowd outside the National Archives building was Shirley Simms, 77, of Southeast Washington, who stood on a retaining wall watching the festivities through opera glasses.

"I'm here because I was born here," she said. "How long have I been coming? All my life. It's my home. I love it. And that's it."

Standing beside her was Yvonne Norton, 46, of Arlington County. It was her first time at the parade. "So far, so good," she said, "and the cherry blossoms are just gorgeous."

As the festivities continued, Kaneica Rious, 22, maneuvered along the sidewalk with Germain Bryant, a severely disabled woman who uses a walker. Rious, carrying a pink backpack and a red camping chair, said she was one of Bryant's caregivers.

They were looking for a gap in the crowd and a spot to sit: "As long as she can see the parade and be comfortable, she'll be happy," Rious said of Bryant. "She really likes the music. I'm trying to get her closer. I need to get her closer."

Just then, a band struck up a march composed by John Philip Sousa, but there was no break in the crowd. The two continued down the sidewalk, and the parade went on.