SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2008 at 10am
Don’t miss one of Washington DC's most excitingtraditions - the Parade of the National Cherry Blossom Festival®! This signature springtime celebration steps off at 10:00 AM and marches along historic Constitution Avenue from 7th and 17th Streets, NW.

Join hosts from ABC 7 Doug McKelway, Alison Starling and Beverly Kirk for an exciting morning of spectacles, music and entertainment! If you can’t make it to the event, you can catch it on TV, the parade will simulcast live on ABC 7 and NewsChannel8.

Those joining the street-audience will recognize the voices of radio broadcasters hosting the event Loo Katz and Lori Brooks from Washington DC’s 97.1WASH-FM.

You find these exciting new additions in the 2008 Parade…

Miss America 2008, Kristen Haglund of Michigan performs live! This aspiring Broadway star will dazzle crowds with her vocal talent–not to mention her grace, poise, and charisma.

See Sesame Place's newest neighbor, Abby Cadabby, the sweet, inquisitive fairy-in-training. She will be riding down the Parade-route with her friends, Cookie Monster, Grover, Rosita, and everyone's furry red favorite - Elmo. These happy friends are joining us from Sesame Place, the nation’s only theme park based entirely on Sesame Street, located in Langhorne, PA, where parents and children can experience Sesame Street together through whirling rides, water slides, colorful shows and furry friends.

In honor of its first National Cherry Blossom Festival, Madame Tussauds Washington, DC is offering FREE ADMISSION to anyone with a Parade Grandstand Seating Ticket Stub! Bring your stub ($15 each) to Madame Tussauds after the Parade for free admission to the museum! (Regular adult admission $21.15, offer expires on July 31, 2008). Purchase your grandstand seating tickets today!

Marching bands are a vibrant element of the parade. NCBF is proud to welcome 11 outstanding bands that competed to thrill audiences with their musicality, marching, uniforms, and drum-lines. The bands come from all over the country, is your home state–or even town–represented?

• Dunbar High School Marching Band
  Washington, DC
  
  
• Ballou High School Marching Band
  Washington, DC
  
  
• Sparkman High School Marching Band
  Harvest, AL
  
  
• Beckman High School Patriot Marching Band
  Irvine, CA
  
  
• Lowndes High School Georgia Bridgeman
  Valdosta, GA
  
  
• Acadiana High School Band
  Lafayette, LA
  
  
• Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Marching Colonials
  Acton, MA
  
  
• Roaring Bengals Marching Band
  James Herbert Blake High School
  Silver Spring, MD
  
  
• Chartiers Valley High School Showband
  Bridgeville, PA
  
  
• Band of the Blue, Colleton County High School
  Walterboro, SC
  
  
• Timpview High School Marching Band
  Provo, UT
  
  
• Virginia Tech, Hightie Tighties
  Blacksburg, VA

What else happens in the Parade?
The parade is a spectacular event for children of all ages…
Dance and drumming performance teams from Japan and the United States highlight the art of taiko drumming.

Cherry blossom queens from the US and Japan add royalty to the procession.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival® All-Star Tap Dance Team and Youth Choir entertain with sensational musical numbers for eager audiences.

Giant balloons, floats, horses, antique cars, clowns and mascots all add to the merriment on parade morning.

Over 500 volunteers help the day of the Parade. The National Park Service works with the National Cherry Blossom Festival® in producing the largest event of the two-week festival.