Amazon Attracts Cherry Blossom Festival Events To Arlington

ARLINGTON, VA — Amazon, together with developer JBG Smith and the National Landing Business Improvement District, has formed a strategic partnership with the National Cherry Blossom Festival to raise awareness of the evolving neighborhood.

Through the partnership, the National Cherry Blossom Festival will add programming on the Virginia side of the Potomac River in Arlington. The expansion of the festival into Arlington will highlight the proximity of National Landing as a growing urban center and demonstrate the area’s role as a vibrant destination for locals and visitors, the companies said.

JBG Smith and National Landing BID will serve as Sakura Circle supporters of the cherry blossom festival, while Amazon was named a Leadership Circle sponsor. JGB Smith is the exclusive developer of Amazon's new headquarters in Arlington.

“We could not be more pleased to help bring some of the excitement of the National Cherry Blossom Festival to National Landing,” Brooke Oberwetter, head of external affairs for Amazon in Arlington, said Monday in a statement.

More than two years ago, the Arlington County Board approved Amazon's development of the site, which was re-named National Landing and includes neighborhoods in Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard. In early February, Amazon submitted plans to Arlington County for the second phase of its $2.5 billion headquarters project. The new phase will feature a 350-foot helix-shaped office tower that can be climbed from the outside like a mountain hike.

As part of the festival partnership, two Cherry Blossom Art in Bloom sculptures will be located in National Landing, and dozens of cherry trees will be planted in the area this spring as part of the partnership. National Landing will also take part in the annual Cherry Picks restaurant program, the City in Bloom campaign, and the new Porch Parade and Petal Procession, which encourages community participation from residents and local businesses.

“We are thrilled to partner with the National Cherry Blossom Festival to celebrate and promote our region’s beloved springtime tradition with the residents and businesses across the National Landing community,” Tracy Sayegh Gabriel, president and executive director of the National Landing BID, said in a statement. “This collective strategic partnership will set the stage and help us further define National Landing as a signature partner of the festival for years to come.”

Pop-up installations and other events will be announced in National Landing as part of the 2021 cherry blossom festival celebration.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers designed 2021 cherry blossom festival to incorporate both virtual and in-person experiences.