February 20, 2018 Library of Congress to Host National Cherry Blossom Festival Events

The Library of Congress will host a lecture on the National Cherry Blossom Festival poster process on April 5 and Japanese Culture Day on April 7 in conjunction with the National Cherry Blossom Festival, the annual celebration in Washington, D.C., of its gift of cherry trees from Japan.

Thomas Burns, creator of the 2016 National Cherry Blossom Festival poster, will present a lecture about the poster, including his design process and ideas for the poster, from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 5, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.  After the lecture, guests can view the Library's new acquisition of historic National Cherry Blossom festival posters which will be introduced for the first time with a display.

Japanese Culture Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, in the Young Readers Center on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. 

Thomas Burns’ lecture and Japanese Culture Day are official National Cherry Blossom Festival events. Tickets are not required for either event, which are free and open to the public.

In addition, the Library is hosting “LOC Spring Fling,” a pop-up exhibition exploring the sights, sounds and smells of the spring season through treasures from the Library’s vast collection items, including a host of cherry blossom-related items. More than 80 collection items will be on display for “Spring Fling.” The display will be on view Friday, April 6, Saturday, April 7, Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. Tickets are available for this free exhibition but not required. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit this event ticketing site .

Lecture on National Cherry Blossom Festival Poster Art

Thomas Burns is a professor of illustration at Savannah College of Art and Design. The Library's Prints and Photographs Division has one of the world's largest poster collections, numbering 250,000 items.  In 2017, the Library received a gift of 25 historical posters from the National Cherry Blossom Festival Inc. This is an official event of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, presented by the Library’s Prints & photographs Division and Asian Division.

Japanese Culture Day

This program, presented by the Library’s Asian Division and its Young Readers Center, introduces children and adults to Japanese culture through hands-on origami artwork creation, trying on kimonos and other activities.  Cherry Blossom princesses will instruct children in the art of tiara making. At 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Tad Hills, a New York-based children’s book author and illustrator, will read his books, including “How Rocket Learned to Read,” the New York Times best-selling picture book, followed by a book signing.  He will also give a demonstration of his illustration technique.  At 12:15 p.m., the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C., will present “Japan-In-A-Suitcase,” a program about Japanese life and culture.  The Library’s Young Readers Center will provide an opportunity for children to explore the center’s library of current and classic books. This is an official event of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

“LOC Spring Fling” Pop-Up Exhibition

 At “LOC Spring Fling,” visitors will experience the living history of the National Cherry Blossom Festival through archival objects, photographs and art. The Library’s spring fever can be tracked on Twitter at @librarycongress and #SpringFling.

The Asian Division of the Library of Congress holds more than 3 million books, periodicals, newspapers, electronic media and a large number of manuscripts from Asia. The collection is the most comprehensive source of Asian-language materials outside of Asia and covers the area ranging from Japan, China, Korea, Mongolia and the South Asian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. For more information, visit loc.gov/rr/asian/.

The Prints and Photographs Division holds nearly 15 million photographs, drawings and prints from the 15th century to the present day. International in scope, these visual collections represent a uniquely rich array of human experience, knowledge, creativity and achievement, touching on almost every realm of endeavor: science, art, invention, government and political struggle and the recording of history. For more information, visit loc.gov/rr/print/.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is the nation’s greatest springtime celebration. The 2018 festival, held March 20 – April 15, includes four weeks of events featuring diverse and creative programming promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty and community spirit. Visit nationalcherryblossomfestival.org or call 877.44.BLOOM for more information, or check out Facebook (CherryBlossomFestival), Twitter (@CherryBlossFest) and Instagram (@CherryBlossFest).

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both on site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.