The annual National Cherry Blossom Festival, held in the Nation’s capital, attracts tourists and visitors from across the county and around the world. The festival, which commemorates the gift of 3,000 cherry trees from the mayor of Tokyo to Washington in 1912, began March 28 and runs through April 12. More than a million people are expected to travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in the festival's activities which include live dance and music performances, marches and the traditional lantern lighting. The main attraction is the Tidal Basin, where thousands of pink flowers bloom near some of Washington's most impressive monuments, such as the Washington Monument and Thomas Jefferson memorial.