DEDICATION OF 40 CHERRY TREES
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Do you know how the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC began? On February 14, 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo, donated 3000 cherry trees to the city of Washington, D.C. shipped from Yokohama, Japan on board the S.S. Awa Maru, by way of Seattle. This historic event was made possible through the efforts of Mrs. Helen Herron Taft, wife of then President William Howard Taft and Eliza Scidmore. On March 27, 1912, Mrs. Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador, picked two Yoshino cherry trees from the original 3000 trees and planted them on the northern bank of the Tidal basin near what is now Independence Avenue now marked by a large bronze plaque. Washington’s famous National Cherry Blossom Festival grew from this simple ceremony and gesture of friendship. President William Howard Taft and wife Helen were from Ohio. On April 27, 2012, the city of Columbus celebrated the 1912 centennial of the donation of the original cherry trees in Washington, D.C. by planting 20 cherry trees in Franklin Park as a symbol of friendship between the U.S. and Japan for over 100 years and in remembrance of the Great Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. In the spring of 2018, the city of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, Franklin Park Conservatory and the International Voluntary Organizations (IVO) joined efforts to obtain and plant 40 additional cherry trees around the lower pond which will be dedicated on September 22, 2018. In 2020, an additional 40 cherry trees will be planted around the Upper Pond for a total of 100. In 2022, the IVO Columbus hopes to hold the first Cherry Blossom Festival in Columbus, like the annual event in Washington DC.
