Washington ( CNN ) There should be plenty of pent-up anticipation among cherry blossom fans in Washington this spring . Peak blooms are expected at the tail end of the three-week-long National Cherry Blossom Festival , which kicks off Friday and runs through April 12 . The fluttering pink and white blossoms are expected to hit their peak between April 11 and April 14 . Here are five things to know about the eagerly awaited D.C. blossoms : . The city 's first cherry trees were destroyed . In 1910 , 2,000 cherry trees arrived in Washington , thanks to a gift from the city of Tokyo and the advocacy of Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore , one of the first female board members of the National Geographic Society . These trees , however , were riddled with disease and were destroyed . Two years later , first lady Helen Herron Taft planted one of the first of more than 3,000 replacement trees sent from Japan . Winter 's almost over : See the proof . The festival was launched more than 20 years later . It was n't until 1935 that civic groups and the D.C. government came together to hold the first `` Cherry Blossom Festival . '' That first official festival came after smaller commemorations including a three-day celebration in 1934 and a 1927 re-enactment of the original planting of the trees by a group of Washington school children . It 's not all about cherry trees . That 's right , there 's a Blossom Kite Festival right in the middle of the cherry blossom festivities on March 28th . The festival consists of a hot tricks showdown , learning how to make and fly kites , and there 's even a kite doctor on site to repair broken kites . Two types of trees dominate . In the 1912 gift of trees to Washington , there were 12 different varieties . Today , two varieties are dominant -- Yoshino and Kwanzan . Kwanzan trees are usually found in the East Potomac Park area and produce pink blossoms . The Yoshino , which produce white blossoms , are closer to the northern part of the Tidal Basin near the Washington Monument . Descendants of the original trees live in Japan . In 2011 , about 120 trees propagated from D.C. 's surviving 1912 trees were sent back to Japan to preserve the genetic lineage of the symbolic trees . Over the years , cuttings from the original trees have also been returned to Japan for horticultural projects .
The National Cherry Blossom Festival starts March 20 in Washington . Hide Caption