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2009 Entertainment
Hosts for the 2009 National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade are ABC 7 and NewsChannel 8 anchors Doug McKelway, Alison Starling and Beverly Kirk. 97.1 WASH-FM’s Loo Katz and Lori Brooks will be on hand as grandstand announcers. Celebrities appearing in this year's parade include:- Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek as Grand Marshal
- American Idol second season finalist Kimberley Locke, singing
“Band of Gold”
- Grammy award-winning disco diva Thelma Houston performs, “Don’t Leave Me This Way”
- Disney Radio star and teen heart-throb Joey Page
- Miss America 2009, Katie Stam
- Students from the Creative and Performing Arts High School in Philadelphia sing “Cant’ Stop Dancin,”accompanied by the All Star Flag Team, DC Roller Derby Skaters and vocalist Brenda
Goldsmith
- The cast of CHICAGO will perform “All That Jazz”
- Broadway show and cinema phenomenon MAMMA MIA! is
also saluted with a performance of timeless ABBA classics including Mamma Mia!, Waterloo and Dancing Queen!
- Elmo from Sesame Place
Date and Time
Saturday, April 4, 2009 from 10:00 a. m. to noon. Arrive around 9:00 a.m. to stake out a spot along the parade route. Following the parade is the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Don't miss the biggest Japanese street party in the nation.Parade Route
Along Constitution Avenue, NW beginning at 7th Street and ending at 17th Street. The parade passes many Washington, DC attractions - National Archives, the Department of Justice, Smithsonian Museums, the Washington Monument and the White House. See a map of the parade routeTransportation and Parking
This is one of the biggest events of the year and parking is extremely limited. The best way to get to the parade is by Metro. The closest Metro stations are Archives/Navy Memorial, Federal Triangle and Smithsonian. For more information about getting to the festival, see Cherry Blossom Festival Transportation GuideSeating and Tickets
The parade is free and open to the public. For $17 you may purchase a reserved grandstand seat. The Festival has once again teamed up for a special offer with Madame Tussauds Washington DC. The wax museum is offering free admission and VIP access to all grandstand seating ticket holders from April 4 – 30. Ticket holders can present their stub in exchange for admission to the museum.The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual two-week, city-wide event featuring more than 200 international cultural performances and over 90 other special events. See the schedule of the National Cherry Blossom events
