Easter Egg Roll

Every year, tens of thousands of lucky guests from across the nation gather on the South Lawn of the White House for games, storytelling, entertainment and egg rolling.

White House Easter Egg Roll tickets are free and are made available via an online lottery prior to the event. This year's lottery information can be found here.

Easter Egg Roll Performers and Special Guests

Over the years, the White House has invited many popular musical artists, bands, celebrities, athletes, children's book authors, costumed characters and special guests.

Past Easter Egg Roll Performers, Special guests, and Entertainment

Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Zendaya, Idina Menzel, Silentó, Chloe x Halle, Fifth Harmony, Jordin Sparks, JDJ Fussyman, Diggy Simmons, Coco Jones, and The Wanted have all performed at the event.

The United States Marine Band, Army Band, Navy Band, and Air Force Band are perennial favorites.

White House Easter Eggs: Available for Purchase

Each year, souvenir wooden eggs are given to children attending the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. These commemorative eggs are also made available for purchase online.

You can purchase the wooden eggs here.

Interesting Facts about the White House Easter Egg Roll

Ticketing

• Easter Egg Roll lottery ticket winners have come from all 50 states.
• A portion of the tickets are distributed to military families and public schools in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia.
• On average, there are almost 50,000 lottery applicants requesting around 200,000 tickets in the lottery.

Eggs

• The souvenir White House wooden eggs include the stamped signatures of the President and First Lady.
• The wooden eggs are made in the U.S. using a process of wood turning and barrel dying.
• Children 13 and younger will each receive a souvenir wooden egg at the event.
• Souvenir wooden eggs are made each year and are available for public purchase.
• 30,000 hard-boiled eggs are hand-dyed for use in the Easter egg roll and the egg hunt.
• Guests at the Egg Dying station will decorate over 4,500 hard-boiled eggs on the day of the Easter Egg Roll.
• Visually impaired children are able to participate in the Egg Roll and Egg Hunt through the use of special “chirping eggs”.

Sustainability

• The White House uses goody bags that are made from recycled materials and can be recycled after use.
• The eggs are packaged in recyclable paperboard which minimizes waste and lessens the environmental impact of the event.
• There will be both trash bins and recycling bins for guests to use around the South Lawn and Ellipse areas.

Easter Egg Roll Volunteers

• Event volunteers include professional American Sign Language interpreters and nurses and physicians from George Washington University.
• Each year, there are approximately 1,200 hard-working volunteers lending their time and talent to make the event a fun and memorable one.
• All volunteers are required to attend at least one training session.
• Many of the volunteers arrive early in the morning by 5:00 AM to help set up and get prepared for the first round of guest arrivals.
• It takes around 2,000 eggs to make breakfast for the hungry volunteers.

History of the White House Easter Egg Roll

• The first White House Easter Egg Roll was held in 1878 when President Rutherford B. Hayes opened up the South Lawn to children who had been chased off the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.
• John Philip Sousa and the Marine Band performed for the crowd at the Egg Roll in 1889
• In 1933, the Easter Egg Roll was first broadcast to a national audience over the radio by Eleanor Roosevelt.
• There was a circus and petting zoo in 1977.
• President Nixon first invited the Easter Bunny to be part of the event and President Reagan started the tradition of the egg hunt.
• The last time the Easter Egg Roll was cancelled due to rain was in 2001.
• The Easter Egg Roll was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.