by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Photo credit: Brendan Kownacki
Hop into healthy, swing into shape—that was the theme of the day when more than 30,000 festive frolickers made their way to the South Lawn of the The White House for the 136th annual Easter Egg Roll.
The tradition goes back to the 1800s when the original site for the festivities was the terraces of the Capitol Building, but since, the Easter Monday tradition draws entertainers, activities and thousands of families to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
The President and First Lady greeted guests from the Truman Balcony and the President joked, “My main and only job, other than officiating over the Roll at some point, is to introduce, alongside the Easter Bunny, the person who makes this all possible….Michelle Obama.”
The Obamas have used the activity as a perfect tie in with First Lady’s Let’s Move initiative, encouraging kids to exercise, eat healthy and stay active. This year’s Egg Roll featured a parade of athletes from around D.C. including Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins from the Washington Redskins, Gio Gonzales from the Washington Nationals, as well as a number of professional football, basketball, soccer players and Olympians.
“It is so wonderful to have so many of you here,” said the First Lady in her welcome. The event is the largest event held at the White House each year. “We’ve got the egg roll, we’ve got some storytelling, we’ve got entertainment…we’ve got obstacle courses and yoga and face painting and egg hunts. It’s just gonna be terrific.” —and each of these stations were bustling with activity from early morning into the evening.
Jim Carrey
Among the crowd were local radio personality Tommy McFly, emceeing the event for the fourth year, TV personality and health advocate Dr. Oz, actor and comedian Jim Carrey, Miss America Nina Davuluri, Disney channel start Debby Ryan, celebrity chefs Marc Murphy and Alex Guarnaschelli, and a complete delegation of costumed characters. Headlining the Rock ‘n’ Egg Roll Stage were acts such as American Idol star Candice Glover, R5 featuring DJ Ross Lynch and Ariana Grande.
The sun was bright and strong despite unseasonable snow just weeks before, but spring was truly in the air for this longstanding tradition of celebration, family and of course, eggs.
