ALT-3 2010 White House Easter Egg Hunt
If you live in the D.C. area or plan to visit over Easter weekend, you may have the opportunity to participate in an American tradition that is nearly 140 years old. The White House Easter Egg Roll will be held on Monday, April 5, 2010 from 8 AM to 5 PM on the White House lawn. This year’s online lottery for tickets is already closed. If you did register for the online lottery, you can view the results as of Thursday, March 4, 2010 athttp://www.recreation.gov
Tickets are free and available to children of all ages as long as at least one member of the family is under the age of 7. Everybody who registers has an equal chance of winning, making this annual event a great opportunity for all families to create unique memories while visiting the nation’s capital. This year’s theme is “Ready, Set, Go!” named after the First Lady’s national “Let’s Move!” campaign to fight childhood obesity. Events will be themed around the ideas of health and wellness, and include live music, sports courts, cooking stations, storytelling, and the chance to visit with the Easter Bunny. The main event, of course, is rolling hard-boiled eggs across the White House lawn!
Although the White House Easter Egg Roll officially began in 1878, its roots can be traced back to an earlier time, when children were given free reign to turn the Capitol lawn into their Easter Monday playground. The first Egg Rolls were believed to have begun during the administration of President Andrew Johnson and were mostly a family event. The Johnson family hard-boiled and painted eggs, and then invited neighborhood children to participate in egg rolling on Easter Mondays. When Congress began to take note of the damage that was being done to the Capitol grounds, a law was passed forbidding the use of the Capitol lawn as a playground, and the Easter Egg Roll was moved to the White House. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the South Lawn of the White House to egg rollers on Easter Sunday, and successive Presidents have since carried on this tradition.
Throughout the history of this event, Presidents and First Ladies have personally greeted egg rollers, as well as members of the Cabinet, star athletes, and celebrities. At the end of the event, each egg roller receives a souvenir handcrafted wooden egg signed by the President and First Lady.
Today, the Egg Roll is the largest public event at the White House, drawing around 40,000 participants per year. If you have tickets, be sure to arrive early! You must enter the event by going through the security checkpoint at the Ellipse. All types of food and beverages are prohibited, as well as duffel bags, backpacks, and knives. Visitors are, however, permitted to bring strollers, diaper bags, baby formula and baby bottles. After all, this event is all about the tiny tykes!
Tickets to this event are rare and hard to come by, but it is worth a shot and will be a very memorable event if you are able to attend. Someday your children may not only be able to say they visited the White House, but that they got to roll Easter Eggs all over the lawn and maybe even shook hands with the President.
