Cherry Blossoms Are Not Hot-Pink: Placelessness, Staged Authenticity, and the Digital Spectacle of the Natioanl Cherry Blossom Festival - Soojung Paek

Wednesday, November 19, 2025 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM EST
Horizon Hall, #5225 or Zoom

This paper examines Washington, D.C.'s National Cherry Blossom Festival as a case study of how ecological heritage and cultural rituals are transformed by corporate spectacle and the aesthetics of social media. Drawing on field observations, discourse analysis of festival media, and tourism theory, l argue that the festival collapses ecological, cultural, and historical dimensions into a commodified visual experience that displaces authentic, place-based meaning. By foregrounding the tension between beauty, public ritual, and commodification, this study contributes to broader conversations on reimagining contemporary nature tourism-shifting from the logic of spectacle toward practices grounded in ecological care, cultural memory, and a deep understanding of place's historical layers.