What: First-Day-of-Issue stamp dedication ceremony for the Cherry Blossom Centennial 45-cent Forever stamps
Who: Japan’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ichiro Fujisaki
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe
Stamp Designer Phil Jordan of Falls Church, VA
Stamp Artist Paul Rogers of Pasadena, CA
2011 Cherry Blossom Queen Allison Speaker
National Cherry Blossom Festival Executive Director Diana Mahew
When: 10:30 a.m., Sat., March 24, 2012
Where: National Building Museum
401 F. St., N.W., Washington, DC 2001
Background: The Postal Service commemorates the centennial of the gift of more than 3,000 cherry trees from the city of Tokyo to Washington, DC. The stamps memorialize this gift honoring the friendship between the United States and Japan, and celebrate the continued close relationship between the two nations.
The two 45-cent First-Class Forever stamps — an artistic rendering of near mirror images — form the left and right halves of a panoramic view of blooming cherry trees surrounding the Tidal Basin. The left stamp depicts blossoming trees arching over two girls dressed in bright kimonos and a family on a stroll with the Washington Monument in the background. On the second stamp, the Jefferson Memorial forms the backdrop for tourists taking in the sights under a canopy of pink blooms.
Artist Paul Rogers of Pasadena, CA, worked with art director Phil Jordan of Falls Church, VA, to create the two stamp designs.