Channel 7 Meteorologist Joe Witte will MC Lantern Ceremony

WJLA-TV Channel 7 professional meterologist and broadcast journalist Joe Witte will be master of ceremonies and host for the 2008 Cherry Blossom Festival Japanese Stone Lantern Lighting Ceremony and Concert at the Tidal Basin on Sunday, April 6.  The ceremony starts at 2:30 pm with prelude music from the Toho Koto Society of Washington and the Cardinal Choir.  At 3 pm, the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard will present the colors as the national anthems of Japan and the United States are sung.  The event has been sponsored jointly by the National Park Service and the National Conference of State Societies since 1954.  The event is free and open to the public.  Five hundred chairs are available at 2:30 pm on a first come, first serve basis.  Take Metro to the Smithsonian stop.  The stage is set up at the west end of Kutz Bridge opposite the paddle boat docks and due south of the World War II Memorial at 17th Street and Independence Avenues, SW.  Speakers will include American diplomats and Ambassador Ryozo Kato of Japan.