Easter Egg Roll

 

White House Easter Egg Roll 2013

 

Easter comes early in 2013 on Sunday March 31st. That means we will hold our next Easter Egg Roll on Monday April 1st - April Fools Day!   In a show of confidence regarding the upcoming Presidential Election this Fall, the Obama Administration has already begun planning for the 2013 White House Easter Egg Roll. The 2013 Easter Egg Roll theme will be "Four more EARS!"

In 2011, the Easter Egg Roll took guests inside the White House. In 2012, the Easter Egg Roll took guests on top of the White House. While the details of the 2013 Easter Egg Roll are a closely held secret, you can expect some exciting activities to take place underneath the White House! Come back here next January for more information!

 

White House Easter Egg Roll 2012

 

This year's event took place on Monday April 9, 2012. We hosted over 30,000 visitors from all 50 states. The Easter Egg Roll included activities outside, inside, and on top of the White House this year!

We had a busy day planned starting at 7:30AM and went strong until 6:45PM. Our Easter Egg Roll Schedule of Events included the usual storytime stage, cooking stage, egg dying, yoga garden and music stage set up outside where entertainers, artists, and some special guests performed throughout the day.

 

2012 Easter Egg Roll Video

 

 

New for 2012:  Egg tossing and tennis on the White House roof; curvy slide down to the South Lawn; ball pit fun in the Oval Office; and an assortment of age-appropriate video games available on the Watch Floor of the Situation Room.

 

 

2012 Easter Egg Roll Performers

Rave reviews over the choice of this year's musical performers: the beloved Bay City Rollers! The original Scottish boy-band from the 1970s reunited for a one-time only concert. Known for their big hits "S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night" and "Keep On Dancing", they delighted not only the little ones, but their middle-aged moms as well!  Be sure to read the full scoop on their Easter Egg Roll appearance at VintageVinylNews.com.

Below is a screen shot from our Rockin' Egg Roll Stage featuring the beloved Bay City Rollers.

 

 

2012 Easter Egg Roll Costume Characters

The White House carefully chose costume characters that reflected the importance of family values and is proud that the entire cast of "Family Guy" took part in this year’s Easter Egg Roll. These beloved characters wandered around the White House lawn passing out lots of candy and soft drinks.

 

 

Easter Egg Roll Map of Activities

 

 

2012 Easter Egg Roll on Twitter

White House Easter Egg Roll enthusiasts tweeted about the Easter Egg Roll using the Twitter hashtag #EasterEggRoll. Read some of the tweets below:

 

 

 

Easter Egg Roll Brunch at the White House Mess

We opened up the White House Mess this year to our hungry Egg Roll participants. Our special brunch menu pleased even our youngest guests. Many Easter Egg rollers took advantage of this rare opportunity and dined at the White House Mess.

 

Tickets For the 2012 Easter Egg Roll

Easter Egg Roll tickets were made available through an online lottery system in early March. Over sixty thousand hopeful Americans flocked to the lottery site in eager anticipation. Sadly, not everyone could be a winner. That painful sting of disappointment was eased when the White House generously decided to give the losers a second chance. For those of you who did not receive tickets, be sure to try again next year.

 

Souvenir White House Eggs

Due to the distressed economy, we offered a common-sense alternative to the traditional pricey wooden souvenir eggs for sale by the National Park Foundation.

Each year, the White House decorates thousands of hard-boiled eggs for the Easter Egg Roll. At the end of the day, these eggs are scooped up and thrown away. Wasteful!

This year, these discarded eggs were made available to the general public on a first-come first-served basis. Sure they may have been chipped and perishable, but they were free! After the event concluded, White House staff members and the Secret Service gently tossed the leftover eggs over the White House fence to the awaiting public.

 

 

History of the White House Easter Egg Roll

• The Easter Egg Roll is a White House tradition dating back to 1878 and President Rutherford B. Hayes, but there are records of informal egg rolling events as early as Abraham Lincoln’s administration.
• After the Civil War, egg rolling often took place on the Capitol building’s grounds. But by 1876, Congressmen grew tired of the torn up grounds and rowdy crowds and passed a law prohibiting the use of the Capitol Grounds as a play area.
• On Easter day in 1878, when the ban on egg rolling at the Capitol went into effect, some claim that President Hayes saw tearful children while riding by the Capitol Grounds in his carriage and invited them to play on the White House lawn.
• By 1899, the White House Easter Egg Roll had become quite popular, with over 8,000 people in attendance. This year, over 30,000 were invited to attend the event.
• The Easter Egg Roll has been held at the White House every year except during World War I, World War II and the Truman Renovation of the White House, when it was moved to other Washington locations or cancelled.
• President Ronald Reagan was the first President to hide autographed eggs for children to find in the Egg Hunt.
• President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon were the first to include the White House Easter Bunny in the festivities.
• President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush were the first to affix the signature of the President and First Lady to the commemorative egg.
• First Lady Grace Coolidge was known for her love of pets, but none were more famous than her pet raccoon, Rebecca, who made an appearance at the White House Easter Egg Roll in the 1920’s.
• President Barack Obama was the first President to hold the annual Easter Egg Roll indoors in 2011.

 

Fun Facts for last year's White House Easter Egg Roll

Ticketing

• 205,739 tickets were requested through the online public lottery.
• 48,164 applications were received through the online public lottery.
• At least one family from all 50 states was successful in the public lottery.
• About 3,000 tickets were distributed to public schools in DC, Maryland and Virginia.
• Over 4,000 tickets were distributed to military families.

Eggs

• The souvenir wooden eggs included the stamped signatures of the President and First Lady.
• The wooden eggs were produced through a process of wood turning and barrel dying. They were made in the US from FSC-certified, US hardwood.
• The souvenir wooden eggs were given to children 12 and younger at the event.
• A total of 83,000 souvenir wooden eggs were produced for last year’s event.
• 14,500 hard-boiled and dyed eggs were used between the egg roll and the egg hunt.
• 4,500 boiled white eggs were decorated at the Egg Dying station throughout the course of the day.
• “Chirping eggs” were available for visually impaired children participating in the Egg Roll and Egg Hunt.

Healthy Activities

• The Play with your Food station was a hands-on environment that enforced the message that nutritious eating is both delicious and energizing.
• What’s in Season featured seasonal produce from the White House gardens and local organic farms. Kids explored the different fruits and vegetables, learned about seasonal eating, and learned how to find fresh produce in the junior farmer’s market.
• Kids were able to take home seedling cups in egg cartons to start their own garden in Make Your Own Garden.
• Children had the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of basketball and tennis from professional athletes on the President’s court.
• Kids were able to relax and learn yoga moves in the Yoga Garden.
• The Egg Roll was accessible to children in wheelchairs with the addition of wheelchair matting.

Easter Bunny and Ceremony

• The First Lady was the official host of the White House Easter Egg Roll.
• The event cannot officially be called the White House Easter Egg Roll until the opening ceremony, when the Easter Bunny makes an appearance.

Sustainability

• All goody bags were recyclable and were made from recycled materials.
• The packaging of the eggs, made from recyclable paperboard, was designed to minimize waste and environmental impact.
• The wooden souvenir eggs were made in the US from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) - certified US hardwood.
• 90 trash bins and 90 recycling bins were placed throughout the South Lawn and Ellipse.

Easter Egg Roll Volunteers

• 10 professional American Sign Language interpreters volunteered their time for the event. There were also 6 nurses and 2 physicians from George Washington University.
• The White House Easter Egg Roll was made possible by the hard work of close to 1,200 volunteers.
• All volunteers attended at least one training session and some traveled from as far away as Germany to be part of last year’s event.
• Many volunteers arrived for their shifts as early as 5:00 AM to help get the Easter Egg Roll rolling.

Fun in Numbers

• The Egg Roll used 72 wooden spoons and 8 whistles
• The event incorporated almost 60 volunteer face painters
• 2,000 eggs were used to provide breakfast for the volunteers