Annual White House Easter Egg Roll, DC

Obamas at White House Easter Egg Roll | Photo: By Lawrence Jackson [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Affair: Annual White House Easter Egg Roll

When: Monday, April 6, 2015, 7:30 AM - 6:45 PM

Hot Spot: The White House Lawn, Washington, DC

Deets: The White House Easter Egg Roll is a tradition that dates to 1878. Originally, young children in Washington, D.C., would flock to Capitol Hill every Monday after Easter for egg rolling and a day of activities. Members of Congress grew tired of the growing crowds and passed an Act of Congress which prohibited egg rolling on the Capitol grounds. The event was moved to the White House in 1878 after President Hayes was approached by young children to use his backyard to roll eggs. Nearly every Easter since, the White House has invited young children to roll eggs on the White House lawn.

Today, the Easter Egg Roll has grown from a few local children rolling eggs on the White House lawn to become the largest event held at the White House, filled with live entertainment, sports, interactive cooking demonstrations, and, of course, the traditional rolling of the Easter eggs. The Easter Egg Roll promotes healthy and active living and is designed for children 13 years of age and under.

This year's theme is "#GimmeFive" with activities esigned to encourage children to lead healthy, active lives. Events will feature sports, fitness, cooking demonstrations, and classics like the egg roll and egg hunt.

The Official Emcee of the 2015 White House Easter Egg Roll is Tommy McFly. The United States Marine Corps Band will perform American classics. ID4GiRLS will sing the ‘National Anthem.’

DJ Fussyman, Diggy Simmons, Fifth Harmony, MKTO, Newsies, Sesame Street, and “So You Think You Can Dance” All-Stars, will perform on the Rock ‘n’ Egg Roll Stage. 

Bringing stories to life, readers at the Storytime Stage will be Connie Britton, Misty Copeland, Genevieve Goings, Marsai Martin and Miles Brown, Omar Miller, and Sesame Street.

The Eggcited to Cook Stage features chefs Sunny Anderson, Chris Cosentino, Bobby Flay, Aarón Sánchez, Gail Simmons, and Michael Symon along with DJ Cavem and Alkemia Earth as they prepare delicious recipes showing easy ways to incorporate healthy eating into everyday meals.

In the Eggtivity Zone, Dr. Jayne Greenberg, Caitlin Cahow, Misty Copeland, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mark Hertling, Cornell McClellan, and Donna Richardson will represent the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. Players and coaches from professional sports teams will show kids fun ways to stay active while at the President’s Court kids can get hands-on training from basketball and tennis pros.

The Yoga Garden will explore the connection between movement, breath, and mindfulness featuring long-time professional Yoga instructor, Leah Cullis.

The Hop To It Stage will offer a variety of interactive dance and other physical activities from Hip Hop Public Health, KidTribe, Robotic Dancing, Soul Cycle, Troops for Fitness, and The Happiness Club.

Who You May Spot: The First Family & guests

Hint For The Average Socialite: The 2015 White House Easter Egg Roll lottery will be open from 12 p.m. ET on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23 to 12 p.m. ET on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26. Signing up for the lottery is free of charge and tickets for winners are free of charge. Enter the lottery now.

For the seventh year in a row, members of the public had the opportunity to enter an online lottery for a chance to win tickets to the event and more than 35,000 people from all 50 states and the District of Columbia have received tickets to the event.

What's Trending: @WhiteHouse #EasterEggRoll #GimmeFive

Obamas at White House Easter Egg Roll | Photo: By Lawrence Jackson [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons