The National Cherry Blossom Festival Family Day and Opening Ceremony marks the beginning of the two-week long celebration of the cherry blossoms and the commencement of spring in Washington. For the second year in a row, Opening Day festivities will be presented jointly by the NBM and the NCBF in anticipation of thousands of families from around the region and nation that will attend.

"We are thrilled to hold Opening Day with the National Building Museum again. Last year was such a success, and we look forward to kicking off the Festival with the National Building Museum and making this year's Opening Day bigger and better than ever," said Diana Mayhew, executive director of NCBF.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival Family Day, dedicated to Japanese arts and design, will be held in the NBM's Great Hall, offering a variety of activities, performances, and demonstrations. New and exciting elements to Family Day include a special installation of an original Japanese Garden in the Museum's Great Hall by the Japanese Garden Society of Oregon. Traditional and contemporary demonstrations feature ways Japan continues to "go green," offered to complement the NBM's exhibition The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design.

"We are delighted, once again, to welcome 7,000 visitors to the National Building Museum to experience
the magic of Japanese design, arts, and crafts. The National Cherry Blossom Festival Family Day and Opening Ceremony is a fantastic occasion in our nation's capital and we are proud to participate," said Chase Rynd, executive director of the NBM.

Other activities at the National Cherry Blossom Festival Family Day will include folding origami; construction of miniature Japanese-style paper gardens; a large-scale Kimono Fashion Show presented by the Cultural Foundation for Promoting the National Costume of Japan; and a master demonstration of traditional Furoshki techniques, the ancient Japanese art of cloth folding to carry or wrap items. Decorate a kabuki mask in the Target® activity area; view screenings of the anime (Japanese animation) environmentally-themed film Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind; and watch mukimono, the ancient Japanese art of vegetable and fruit carving, demonstrated by culinary experts from the Art Institute of Washington.

The Opening Ceremony will be held at the National Building Museum following the Family Day from 4:00 to 5:30 pm, first-come, first-served seating. Festivities will include welcoming remarks by Washington dignitaries, the introduction of NCBF Goodwill Ambassadors, and a special performance by internationallyrenowned Japanese flutist and percussionist Masazuku Yoshizawa, a soloist on the soundtrack of the film Memoirs of a Geisha. Reservations are not required.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival® Family Day and Opening Ceremony is sponsored by Target and is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. NCBF extends special thanks to Linder & Associates for event production services as well as La Prima Catering and Lipton, a brand of Unilever.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival® is an annual two-week, citywide event featuring daily cultural performances, sporting events, arts & crafts demonstrations and other special happenings. The 2007 Festival will be held March 31 - April 15.

The National Building Museum is America's premier cultural institution dedicated to exploring and celebrating architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning. The Museum has become a vital forum for exchanging ideas and information about such topical issues as managing suburban growth, preserving landmarks, and revitalizing urban centers. The Museum is located at 401 F Street NW, Washington, D.C. Museum hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. Admission is free to Museum Shop and Café. -- www.nbm.org