The White House Easter Egg Roll is a longtime annual tradition dating back to the 1870s. This year, the springtime event will happen on April 21.
Children ages 13 and under and their families are welcomed onto the White House lawn for a day of “live entertainment, storytelling, arts and crafts, appearances by costumed characters, and the famous Easter Egg Roll and Hunt.”
The public online lottery to secure tickets to the Easter Egg Roll opens today at noon and closes at noon on March 10. Anyone can fill out an online application, but it must include at least one child (13 or under) and one adult, with a maximum of two adults per application.
Tickets are free and limited to six per household. The lottery results will be announced on March 18.
There is also an application to volunteer at the event. Applications must be submitted by March 19 at 5 p.m., and invitations will be sent on March 31.
According to the White House, the game of egg-rolling became popular in the 1870s on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. In 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant passed a law forbidding egg-rolling at the Capitol due to landscaping concerns. The festivities then moved to the White House in 1878, and President Rutherford B. Hayes allowed children onto the lawn to play.
The first lady typically organizes the event, and attendants traditionally receive a commemorative wooden egg signed by the president and first lady.
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Feature image of 2023 White House Easter Egg Roll, official White House photo by Erin Scott
