NATIONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL WINS 14 INDUSTRY PINNACLE AWARDS

Washington, DC [October 10, 2018] – The National Cherry Blossom Festival is thrilled to have won 14 coveted Pinnacle Awards from the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA). Each year, IFEA recognizes outstanding accomplishments and top quality creative, promotional, operational and community outreach programs and materials produced by festivals and events around the world. The Festival came in first place (Gold) in five categories, and second place (Silver) in the esteemed Grand Pinnacle Award category, considered a top industry honor. 

This year, the Festival won:

SILVER: Grand Pinnacle

GOLD: Best Event Within an Existing Festival – Blossom Kite Festival

GOLD: Best Media Relations Campaign

GOLD: Best Sponsor Partner – All Nippon Airways

GOLD: Best Sponsorship Program for an Individual Sponsor – Paws & Petals, Mars Petcare

GOLD: Best New Promotion Activity – FestivALE

SILVER: Best Full Length Local TV Program – National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade® presented by Events DC

SILVER: Best Single New Sponsorship Opportunity – Opening Ceremony Audience Engagement, Japan National Tourism Organization

SILVER: Best Commemorative Poster — 2018 Official National Cherry Blossom Festival Poster, by Maggie O’Neill

SILVER: Best Volunteer Program

SILVER: Best Overall Merchandising Program

SILVER: Best Pin – 2018 Commemorative Lapel pin, designed by Julia Walther of Shiny Apple Studio

BRONZE: Best Parade – National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade® presented by Events DC

BRONZE: Best On-Site Décor – Pink Tie Party

The 2018 Festival brought 1.5 million people from across the world together to celebrate spring in Washington, DC and honor the 106th anniversary of the gift of trees from Japan with outstanding programming spanning four signature weekends.

Other winners of the Grand Pinnacle included first place (Gold) winner Vivid Sydney in Sydney, Australia and third place (Bronze) winner Kentucky Derby Festival.

“It’s a great honor for the National Cherry Blossom Festival to be recognized as an industry leader on a global scale,” said Diana Mayhew, President of the Festival. “Thank you to our community partners, sponsors, supporters, volunteers, attendees, and IFEA for recognizing the Festival as one of the world’s top events.”

Planning for the 2019 Festival (March 20 – April 14, 2019) is already underway, and the Festival’s staff is hard at work preparing for a fantastic year ahead.

Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, IFEA is The Premiere Association Supporting and Enabling Festival & Event Professionals Worldwide. For a complete list of winners and more information, go to www.ifea.com.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the world’s great celebrations of spring. The 2019 Festival, March 20 – April 14, includes four weeks of events featuring diverse and creative programming promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty, and community spirit. Visit nationalcherryblossomfestival.org or call 877.44.BLOOM for more information, or check out Facebook (CherryBlossomFestival), Twitter (@CherryBlossFest), and Instagram (@CherryBlossFest).

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The National Cherry Blossom Festival will highlight its exciting plans for 2019 and unveil the new official artwork at its Launch Event on October 25 at The Watergate Hotel. To obtain media credentials for this event, please contact Nora Strumpf.