Bridget Reed Morawski

WASHINGTON (WMAL) — The Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off three weeks of performances and cultural activities this Saturday, despite a forecast calling for rain and possibly even snow.

Diana Mayhew, the President of the Cherry Blossom Festival, notes that while the rain won’t hurt the petals, snow tends to make them nervous. But because the forecast isn’t calling for any heavy amounts of snow, Mayhew isn’t too worried about it.

While the festivities begin tomorrow, the blossoms have already started to bloom around the metro area.

“Hopefully the blossoms will be out for the next week or ten days,” said Mayhew.

The annual event celebrates the cultural ties between the United States and Japan, and the gift of 3,000 cherry blossom trees that the Capitol received from the Pacific nation over a century ago.

The Cherry Blossom Festival says it welcomes more than 1.5 million people to its programming per year, which spans over four weekends with dozens of events.