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Residents in the Washington, D.C. area have a chance to adorn their houses with pink as they participate in the Petal Porches competition, one of the National Cherry Blossom Festival events.

The Amazon-sponsored friendly competition was launched in 2020, just after the Covid-19 pandemic began. Organizers created the event to enable the cherry blossom festivities to continue in Washingtonian鈥檚 homes when the tidal basin was out of visitors鈥� reach.

Giant inflated teddy bears, bunnies, and pink swans are on row house porches across the city. The National Cherry Blossom Festival website provides a comprehensive map that includes all the participating houses as a guide for Petal Porch hunters.

鈥淭his year, I noticed widespread participation. If you look at the map, you will see participating houses all over the DMV area,鈥� said Aysha Malik, the Community Programming Coordinator for the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Individual participants are competing for the Prime Petal Porches award. Festival staff will shortlist the top three porches in each of Washington, D.C. Wards. Guest judges will choose the winners for each. Virginia and Maryland will get one winner each, according to the National Cherry Blossom Festival official website.

The eight Washington, D.C. Ward winners will compete later for The People鈥檚 Petal Porch award, which will be voted for on the festival鈥檚 official Instagram account.

While many residents hope to win, some enthusiastically participate in the Petal Porch festivities just for laughs.

鈥淲e just wanted to do something really fun,鈥� a Washington, D.C. resident, Margaret McCulloch said. 鈥淲e did some fun decorations during Christmas, and the kids were crazy, so we just like doing it.鈥�

鈥淵ou get so many smiles, and the kids are blowing at the pinwheels and taking photos with the bunny. It’s just a lot of fun,鈥� McCulloch said.

Several Washingtonian blocks are decorated with unified themes as they compete to win the Best Blossom Block award. The festival staff are looking for blocks with the most decorated houses but are also judging blocks based on their level of participation and overall effort.

鈥淭he winning block will get a free pop-up party,鈥� Malik said.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival provided participants with inspirational photos and instructions, including a Petal Porches Amazon Wishlist that presented participants with a shopping guide.

Although the pandemic鈥檚 lockdown days are behind us, the popularity of the Petal Porch competition is still growing.

鈥淒uring Covid, everyone came together to become a community. They started doing these block-wide decorations, said Karen Hopper, a Washington, D.C. resident. 鈥淚t was probably Halloween 2020 that spawned the crazy coordinated decoration that you see now. They’ve just kept it going for the last two and a half years.鈥�

Michael Upright joined forces with his neighbors to decorate their block. Their collective efforts allowed them to win the Best Blossom Block in their first participation. They chose Pretty in Pink as a theme for their efforts this year.

鈥淲e’ve been decorating during the holidays because we keep the lights up several months out here,鈥� Upright said. 鈥淲e do Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and then the Cherry Blossoms [festival]. Maybe we do Easter after the Cherry Blossom is over.鈥�

The Petal Porch registration was open from February 2 until March 20. Registered houses are added to the official Petal Porches map.