WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Thousands of visitors lined Constitution Avenue in Washington on Saturday morning for the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade . The annual two-week National Cherry Blossom Festival runs through April 12 . `` Jeopardy ! '' host Alex Trebek served as the parade 's grand marshal , waving to crowds from the back of a convertible . `` American Idol '' finalist Kimberly Locke , the cast of the musical `` Chicago '' and D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton were among the parade 's stars . The cherry blossom trees were a gift of friendship to the U.S. government from Japan in 1912 , according to the National Park Service . Their blooming has come to represent the definitive beginning of springtime in the nation 's capital . The parade is part of the annual two-week National Cherry Blossom Festival , which is timed around the projected peak bloom period of the famous trees . This year , the trees reached their peak bloom this week , according to the park service . Many high school groups and marching bands also participated in the parade . Near the National Mall , large crowds mingled under the branches of the blossoming trees that line the Tidal Basin . On an unusually blustery day , the delicate pink and white blossoms blew from their branches like snowflakes . `` It 's like being in a fairy tale , '' said Maria Podonyi , a visiting professor from Hungary . Podonyi brought her parents , who are visiting the United States from Hungary , to the festival . `` They have n't seen anything like this before , '' she said . `` It 's wonderful . The festival is scheduled to run through April 12 .
`` Jeopardy ! '' host Alex Trebek serves as parade 's grand marshal . Cherry blossom trees were a gift to U.S. government from Japan in 1912 . National Cherry Blossom Festival marks the arrival of spring .