PRESS RELEASE from the White
House
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19,
2011
White House Announces 2011 Easter Egg Roll
Program and Talent Line-up
The
White House announces the program, activities, and talent line-up for
the 2011 White House Easter Egg
Roll, a tradition in its 133rd
year.
This
year’s
theme is “Get Up and Go!” The theme focuses on promoting health
and wellness and encouraging children to lead healthy and active
lives. This is a central part of the First Lady’s Let’s Move!
initiative, which is a national effort to combat childhood obesity.
The
Easter Egg Roll is the largest annual public event at the White
House.
- 30,000
people from all 50 states and the District of Columbia have received
tickets to the event.
- For
the third year in a row, tickets were distributed online. Members
of
the public from all over the country had the opportunity to enter an
online lottery for a chance to win tickets to the event. Over
200,000
tickets were requested via the online lottery, and guests from all 50
states and the District of Columbia were selected as winners.
- The
timing for this year’s event has been extended even further than
previous years, with a start time of 7:30 AM and an end time of 6:20
PM. 30,000 tickets have been distributed in 5 different groups. Each
group of 6,000 guests will be able to spend two full hours on the South
Lawn.
- The
Ellipse will have an entertainment pavilion. Guests are able to
enjoy
musical acts and games as they prepare to enter the South Lawn.
DJs
and the official Emcee of the Easter Egg Roll
will be on the Ellipse welcoming guests in, spinning music, and getting
the guests excited about their two hours on the South Lawn!
- The
entire Easter Egg Roll event, including all of the headliner music
acts and Storytime Stage readers, will be broadcast live on www.whitehouse.gov/live.
A full schedule will be posted on the morning of April 25th
so people from across the country will be able to participate in the
event.
With
the
“Get Up and Go!” theme, all of the activities on the South Lawn
promote healthy and active living. The activities include
obstacle
courses, yoga, dancing, playing sports with professional athletes, and
of course, the traditional egg roll. The full list of events is below:
- An Easter egg hunt & the
traditional Easter egg
roll
- Rockin’ Egg Roll Stage - Live
musical performances for all ages.
- Storytime
Stage - Celebrities
bring books to life.
- Hop To
It! - An
instructional dance party on the South Lawn! Get up and go jump
rope, hula hoop, dance and more.
- Eggtivity
Zone Obstacle Course - A series
of obstacles and drills, including soccer, football and baseball
obstacle courses.
- Basketball
and Tennis- Get
hands-on training from basketball and tennis pros on the President’s
court!
- Yoga
Garden- Come
enjoy a session of yoga from professional instructors.
- Eggspress
Yourself - An
arts and crafts workshop filled with egg
dying, egg decorating, face painting and
more.
- Play
with your Food - Family
Farmer’s Market, Kids’ Kitchen, Make-your-own Garden, Buzzing about
Bees, and more led by the White House chefs and celebrity guest chefs.
This activity center is built around the White House Kitchen Garden.
Talent
Line-up
Colbie
Caillat,
Greyson Chance, Willow Smith, Mindless Behavior, John Lithgow,
Sesame Street, and Little Beats and DJ WillyWow will perform on the Rockin’
Egg Roll Stage.
Colbie Caillat will sing the National Anthem.
Reading
on the Storytime Stage
will be Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos and family; John Lithgow; Elmo,
Maria and Gordon of Sesame Street; John Bemelmans Marciano; Kristi
Yamaguchi; and Geena Davis.
Chefs
Jacque
Pepin, Art Smith and trainer Az Ferguson, Marcella Valladolid,
Carla Hall and the White House Chefs will prepare healthy eating
demonstrations in the Play with your Food station.
In
the Eggtivity Zone,
professional players and coaches from professional sports teams will
teach kids how to play sports and show kids easy, fun ways to stay
active and fit.
Athletes
participating in the Eggtivity Zone
include Olympic stars Tyson Gay and Bryan Clay; Lorenzo Alexander with
the NFL; DC United’s Bryan Namoff, Josh Wolff and Ben Olsen; the
Washington Nationals Jim Riggleman, Adam Laroche and Ryan Zimmerman;
along with Sean Casey and others.
Alana
Beard
and Crystal Langstrom from the WNBA, Nick Young from the Wizards,
former basketball player Darryl Dawkins, and the Harlem Globetrotters
will participate in basketball.
Chris
Evert,
Katrina Adams, Brian Vahaly, Mal Washington, Patrick Monroe and
Chanda Rubin will be joining kids on the tennis courts, along with the
Washington Kastles Mascots.
The
Hop To It Stage
offers a variety of interactive dance, sports, and other physical fun,
including Zumba, the National Double Dutch League, the Happiness Club,
Rhythm Child, and KidTribe.
The
Isiserettes, an Iowa based drill team and drum corp, will perform on
the South Lawn, as well as help guide the visitors on and off of the
South Lawn. The United States Marine Corps Band will
perform again
this year.
DJ
Rekha and DJ WillyWow will perform on the ellipse. The official
Emcee of the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll is Tommy
McFly. He will introduce acts on the music stage and get everyone
excited about the different Egg Roll activities to make for another wonderful Easter Egg Roll.
Fun
Facts for the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll
Ticketing
1)
205,739
tickets were requested through the online public lottery.
2)
48,164
applications were received through the online public lottery.
3)
This was
the third year an online lottery was used. This gave people from
all over the United States the chance to attend.
4)
At least
one family from all 50 states was successful in the public lottery.
5)
About
3,000 tickets were distributed to public schools in DC, Maryland and
Virginia.
6)
Over
4,000 tickets were distributed to military families.
Eggs
7)
The
souvenir wooden eggs are available in four pastel colors – purple,
green, yellow, and pink. They include the stamped signatures of
the
President and First Lady.
8)
The
wooden eggs are produced through a process of wood turning and barrel
dying. They are made in the US from FSC-certified, US
hardwood.
9)
The
souvenir wooden eggs will be given to children 12 and younger at the
event.
10)
A total
of 83,000 souvenir wooden eggs were produced for this year’s
event.
11)
The
National Park Foundation produces and sells the rest of the souvenir
wooden eggs. You can purchase them at http://easter.nationalparks.org/ .
12)
14,500
hard-boiled and dyed eggs will be used between the egg
roll and the egg hunt.
13)
4,500
boiled white eggs will be decorated at the Egg
Dying station throughout the course of the day.
14)
“Chirping
eggs” will be available for visually impaired children participating in
the Egg Roll and Egg Hunt.
Healthy
Activities
15)
The
activities are centered on the theme of the event, “Get Up and
Go!” The theme is based on the First Lady’s Let’s Move!
initiative to encourage healthy and active living.
16)
The Play
with your Food station is a hands-on environment that enforces the
message that nutritious eating is both delicious and energizing.
17)
What’s
in Season
features seasonal produce from the White House gardens and local
organic farms. Kids can explore the different fruits and vegetables,
learn about seasonal eating, and learn how to find fresh produce in the
junior farmer’s market.
18)
Kids are
able to take home seedling cups in egg cartons
to start their own garden in Make Your Own Garden.
19)
Children
will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of basketball and
tennis from professional athletes on the President’s court.
20)
Kids
will be able to relax and learn yoga moves in the Yoga Garden.
21)
The Egg Roll is accessible to
children in wheelchairs with the addition of wheelchair matting.
History
22)
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.
23)
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.
24)
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.
25)
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.
26)
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.
27)
President
Ronald Reagan was the first President to hide autographed eggs for
children to find in the Egg Hunt.
28)
President
Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon were the first to include the White
House Easter Bunny in the festivities.
29)
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.
30)
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.
Easter Bunny and Ceremony
31)
The
First Lady is the official host of the White House Easter
Egg Roll.
32)
The
event cannot officially be called the White House Easter
Egg Roll until the
opening ceremony, when the Easter Bunny makes
an appearance.
Poster
Contest
33)
The
White House held a poster competition and invited local Elementary and
Middle school children in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of
Columbia to submit entries for the 2011 White House Easter
Egg Roll Official
Poster.
34)
There
were a total of 464 posters submitted from 135 schools.
35)
Students
were asked to incorporate this year’s theme, “Get Up and Go!” into
their posters.
36)
The
First Lady selected the winning designs. There were two winners
again this year.
37)
Morgan
Ferrans was selected for the official 2011 Easter
Egg Roll Program
Cover. Morgan is twelve years old and attends Maryvale
Preparatory School in Brooklandville, Maryland.
38)
Alyssa
Pendergast’s submission was selected for the official 2011 Easter Egg Roll
Poster. Alyssa is twelve years old and attends Harper Park Middle
School in Leesburg, Virginia.
39)
Morgan
and Alyssa will be attending the White House Easter
Egg Roll along with
their classes, teachers and parents.
Sustainability
40)
All
goody bags are recyclable and are made from recycled materials.
41)
The
packaging of the eggs, made from recyclable paperboard, was designed to
minimize waste and environmental impact.
42)
The
wooden souvenir eggs are made in the US from Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) - certified US hardwood.
43)
90 trash
bins and 90 recycling bins will be placed throughout the South Lawn and
Ellipse.
Volunteers
44)
10
professional American Sign Language interpreters are volunteering their
time for the event. There will also be 6 nurses and 2 physicians
from
George Washington University.
45)
The
White House Easter Egg
Roll is made possible by the hard work of close
to 1,200 volunteers.
46)
All
volunteers attended at least one training session and some traveled
from as far away as Germany to be part of this year’s event.
47)
Many
volunteers will arrive for their shifts as early as 5:00 AM to help get
the Easter Egg Roll rolling.
Fun
in Numbers
48)
The Egg Roll will use 72 wooden
spoons and 8 whistles.
49)
The
event will incorporate almost 60 volunteer face painters.
50)
2,000
eggs will be used to provide breakfast for the volunteers.
###