FYI: Looks like the blossoms in DC will be rained out this year.

That's a shame. I'd imagine DC has some pretty nice places for flower-viewing too. Is hanami popular there?

We don't have hanami parties for cherry blossom season they way you do in Japan -- with BBQs, beer, etc. (When I lived in Tokyo, my company had our annual hanami in Aoyama Bochii.)

But, we do have hanami-type parties when we go to see a football or baseball game. The parties are held in the parking lot of the stadium before the game begins. I know that sounds very strange, but when I tell my American friends about our hanami parties in Aoyama, they find that VERY strange.

People in DC just take a walk near the flower trees.

I'd imagine the Japanese Embassy or some of the Japan organizations probably hold some Japanese-style hanami events there too. I've only spent a couple of days there in passing, so I'm not really sure, but there must be a huge Japanese community in DC.

Hanami in Aoyama Cemetery? Wow. That's strange to me too. I didn't know people had hanami parties there.