news4's barbara harrison explains how flowers helped bring the world together. >> reporter: this was camp david, the last time the u.s. hosted the summit of the world's leading economic powers. for the eight different languages spoken here, interpreters were available, but for one you might call silent voice at the table, no translation necessary. that's the person who arranged it. >> for me, a floral diplomacy means that flowers are more than just decorative placement. they are actually a very powerful tool for communicating diplomatic messages. this bouquet was on the dining table for all of the leaders and had symbolism and meaning. the yellow roses, it was yellow flowers, spring flowers. >> reporter: in her book "floral diplomacy," laura says flowers communicate all kinds of messages and have for centuries. george washington may never have slept here but on the banks, the beds are still filled with subtle color metaphor, as you might say. yellow flowers represent friendship, trust and respect. but if flowers are talking, is anyone listening? it seems there are some rules in life

. >> that was barbara harrison reporting. carousel day officially begins this morning at is 1:00. as mentioned, we have more music, performances, face painting, story-telling. the list goes on. of course, the classic carousel rides. they run from 11:00 to 5:00 and cost $1.25 per ride. >> there's a lot going on in virginia today. the biggest fund-raiser of the year from mount vernon school is in the dell ray community in alexandria. we have thousands of items with furniture, toys and antiques. the funds benefit the school in a lot of different ways. >> it funds field trips, classroom enrichment, clubs for kids who can't afford them. we really pride ourselves in being a real community school and we make sure that every student can participate in every activity regardless of their ability to pay. >> the final sales are at 1:00 this afternoon. there is a fee we should tell you for admission. >>> now moving on to the celtics. >> it's fun to be a d.c. sports fan. the wizards just made it through the first round of the playoffs. >> wow! john wall says, get out of my way! >> yeah, he's li

barbara harrison joins us to share all the excitement of the park's spring opening. barbara? >> we were out at the park, checking things out and it couldn't look better. jewel of the park, the beautiful carousel, will get the honor it so deserves. after 97 years, they're changing the name of the opening day from family day to carousel day. and that happens tomorrow. sounds of the season, the clanks of the giant doors opening. letting the unmistakable signs of spring outside in. and inside is where these onlookers want to be, opening day can't come soon enough for them. >> the only thing really left to be done is a little bit more sweeping. >> burt kenyon retired from his job maintaining jet engines in the air force. for nine of his ten years at glen echo park, he's run the carousel operation. >> what did you do when you first got here? >> i was a happy worker bee for about the first year. >> reporter: not to say that he's not happy now, taking care of every little detail of maintaining and running the carousel, with its hand-painted circus animals and endangered species, were

that was barbara harrison reporting. carousel day at glen echo park begins at 11:00.here's a lot of activities, music, face painting, story-telling and the carousel rides. they run from 11:00 to 5:00 and cost $1.25 per ride. >>> today is also the biggest fund-raiser of the year for mount vernon community school. that's in the dell ray community in alexandria. there are thousands of items at the mv big flee, like furniture, houseware, toys, they got it all. funds raised will benefit the school in a lot of ways. >> it funds field trips, classroom enrichment, clubs for kids who can't afford them. we really pride ourselves at being a real community school. and we make sure that every student can participate in every activity regardless of their abit >> all right. the final sales are at 1:00 this afternoon. there is a fee for admission. so just a heads-up there. >>> all right. moving on to the celtics. >> that's right. the wizards just made it through the first round of the playoffs. >> john wall says, get out of my way! >> they beat the hawks in atlanta last night, but th

>> absolutely. >> that was barbara harrison reporting.gton app, you're going to find a gallery that has photos and etchings that are proof of how important flowers have been in the nation's history. so search floral diplomacy in our app. >>> so, air conditioners saved the day yesterday. it really was a scorcher out there. >> absolutely. >> hope your ac was working. >> a family after living without it for four years. this family could not afford to make repairs that would have brought about air-conditioning, but that all changed yesterday when 40 volunteers from the group rebuilding together helped fix up their home. >> it's like i'm still dreaming. so i have to pinch to wake me up. it feels very great, yeah. >> good to hear. the organization fixes about 100 houses every year. certainly new to the air-conditioning yesterday. >>> today might be a different story. not much. >> little cooler? >> windows open today. >> yeah. >> let the pollen in. the pollen skount in the high range and the weed and mold spores too, it's been a damp. it's a dam

barbara harrison goes one-on-one with caps owner. be joining jim handly. >> that's one happy man. not me. ted leonsis. >> he's happy you're joining me too. >> thank you, wendy. see you shortly. >>> take a look at this damage in northwestern arkansas, left behind by a line of storms. it knocked power out to thousands of folks yesterday. as many as 50 power poles were taken down. and there were also several reports of trees falling on homes. the powerful line of storms are expected to reignite tomorrow across the mid mississippi valley and cause several weather events. so look out for that if you're traveling anywhere >>> and what are we looking at for tonight and heading into the weekend? >> it's going to be hot and humid. our first chance at hitting 90 degrees so far this year. yeah, and the mugginess, i mean, did you feel it today? >> i did. >> i was outside for the take your child to work event at nih. it was definitely muggy out there. before we get into the weather, i want to show you this beautiful picture from our chopper 4, no

and news4's barbara harrison is here with a rundown for us.t the sneak peek. >> i'm so excited, reading the things that are going to happen, not just the musicals, there's a lot of great stuff coming. this is always an exciting time of year at the kennedy center. we get little bits and brags about what's going to be on the line-up, but this is the day they make it official. today we even got dates for what's to come next year at the kennedy center on the stages there. it looks like you might want to start shopping early for tickets. the 2017-'18 seasons kicks off september 1st with a three-day new play festival, they call it page to stage. this is the 16th year, you might ha they bring popular playwrights and plays for you to check out early works. if you love musicals, this is what's coming. some of the big attractions to see. let's have a look. ♪ ♪ >> well, you know you're going to be on your feet in the aisles of the kennedy center with latin beat, the music and the story of emilio and gloria estefan, that's coming this summer season for th

barbara harrison is here to tell us what do you think of as the universal language?me people might say that it's english, others may say french but if you ask the person responsible for setting the mood at the table for talks, the answer would probably be the language of flowers. >> reporter: this was camp david the last time the u.s. hosted the summit of the world's leading economic powers. for the eight different languages spoken here interprets were available but for one, you might call silent voice at the table, no translation necessary. ask the person who arranged it. >> for me the floral diplomacy means that flowers are more than just decorative placements, that they are a very powerful tool for communicating diplomatic messages. this bow okay was on the dining table for all the leaders had symbolism and >> reporter: the yellow roses. flowers communicate all kinds of messages and have for centuries. take a look. george washington may never have slept here but at his river farm on the banks of the potomac the beds are still filled with those subtle misses. color

barbara harrison talked with the owner about his confidence in the team bringing a title to the districtmetimes fickle fans. >> there's a lot of cities right now that don't have this level of excitement. people aren't coming into town. so we're blessed right now when we're the only organization that has both an nhl and an nba team that's still playing. >> at the beginning of the season, did you think you could ever be here again? i mean, you've been here before. >> yes, i had a lot of confidence in our team, our front office, our coaches, and we're right where we expected. we have very, very high expectations and aspirations and i hope we can one day bring a championship to the great fans of washington, d.c. >> reporter: tell me about these penguins. they bother you a little bit? >> no, the penguins are a great, great franchise. atlanta hawks are a great franchise. we're all in like a brotherhood. but when the puck what they want. and they won the stanley cup last year, and that's our goal this year. >> reporter: does it bother you at all that the fans are so excited and happy and always