Easter Bunny Soon To Arrive At The White House

Easter Bunny Soon To Arrive At The White House

By:  Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger

The Easter Bunny is on his way bringing tidings of a “Happy Easter” to all.  He is headed right up to Washington, D.C.

It is an association, by memory, that we tie together Easter and the event that has become quite a tradition at the White House.  It is once again time for the White House Easter Egg Roll which will mark its 136th anniversary in 2014.  This is, by far, the largest annual event that takes place at the White House, drawing a very diversified crowd, from babies to grandparents. 

Preparation is now underway for this big day which will take place on Monday, April 21, 2014.  Children of all ages are already excited.  All the festivities will be focused on the South Lawn of the White House.  This year in support of the First Lady’s ‘Let’s Move!’ initiative, health and wellness will be promoted with the theme, “Hop into Healthy, Swing into Shape.”  The event will feature live music, sports courts, cooking stations, storytelling and the best part of all, the Easter egg rolling.

Back in March, the colors for the souvenir eggs were revealed, giving us bold and brilliant hues to swing right into Spring.  Green, blue, orange and pink were the chosen colors and each egg has the stamped signatures of the President and First Lady.  A commemorative purple “Bo and Sunny” egg is even included in the 2014 5-pack Collector’s Egg Set only.  The online Easter Egg store can be found at www.recreation.gov.   All children, 13 years and younger, that actively participate in the Roll will be given one of these souvenir eggs to call their own.

There will be a spectacular talent line up to make this Easter Egg Roll even more special than years past.

This year’s special guest is 12-year-old singing sensation, Cam Anthony. Anthony will sing the National Anthem as well as perform on the Rock ‘n’ Egg Roll Stage. 

DJ Beauty & the Beatz, Ariana Grande, Candice Glover, R5 featuring Ross Lynch, DJ Young1, and Sesame Street’s Mando, Rosita, Abby Cadabby, and Cookie Monster, will perform on the Rock ‘n’ Egg Roll Stage.  The Official Emcee of the 2014 White House Easter Egg Roll is Tommy McFly, who will introduce acts on the Ellipse music stage. The United States Marine Corps Band will perform American classics. 

Readers on the Storytime Stage will be Jim Carrey, Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri, former NFL player and NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, DJ Lance Rock, Debby Ryan from the Disney Channel’s JESSIE and Sesame Street’s Mando, Rosita, Abby Cadabby, and Cookie Monster.

Chefs Maneet Chauhan, Alexandra Guarnaschelli, Sam Kass, Marc Murphy, Charles Phan, Super Sprowtz, and the Disney Channel cast of JESSIE will prepare healthy eating demonstrations in the Play with your Food station.

In the Eggtivity Zone, Dr. Jayne Greenberg, Cornell McClellan, Donna Richardson Joyner, Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, Michelle Kwan, Anthony Robles, and Shellie Pfohl will represent the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition as players and coaches from professional sports teams teach kids how to play sports and show kids easy, fun ways to stay active and fit. 

Athletes participating in the Eggtivity Zone include:

Katrina Adams (US Tennis Association)

Dwayne Allen (Indianapolis Colts)

Davy Arnuad (D.C. United)

Brian Baker (US Tennis Association)

Kelly Berger (US Lacrosse)

Bonnie Bernstein (Sports Journalist)

Bobby Boswell (D.C. United)

Stephen Bowen (Washington Redskins)

Michael Carter-Williams (Philadelphia 76ers)

Julie Chu (US Olympic Ice Hockey)

Kirk Cousins (Washington Redskins)

Monique Currie (Washington Mystics)

Martin Conlon (NBA)

Adrian Dantley (NBA)

Derrick Dockery (NFL)

Fabian Espondola (D.C. United)

Dwight Freeney (San Diego Chargers)

Maria Cruz Garcia (US Olympic Fencer)

Pierre Garçon (Washington Redskins)

Gio Gonzales (Washington Nationals)

Robert Griffin III (Washington Redskins)

Richard Hamilton (NBA)

Allyson Hamlin (D.C. United)

Jamie Hampton (US Tennis Association)

Tony Hawk (Professional Skateboarder)

Daryl Homer (US Olympic Fencer)

Ryan Kerrigan (Washington Redskins)

Bradley Klahn (US Tennis Association)

Matt Lawrence (NFL)

Ivory Latta (Washington Mystics)

Nancy Lieberman (WNBA)

Nastia Liukin (US Olympic Gymnast)

Felipe (Luis) López  (NBA)

Le’Ron McClain (NFL)

Grace Min (US Tennis Association)

Tim Morehouse (US Olympic Fencer)

Dikembe Mutombo (NBA)

Lewis Neal (D.C. United)

Bill Olsen (D.C. United)

Mzingha Elaine Prescod (US Olympic Fencer)

Melanie Oudin (US Tennis Assocation)

Jeff Parke (D.C. United)

Sam Querrey (US Tennis Association)

Paul Rabil (Lacrosse)

Sanya Richards-Ross (US Olympic Track and Field)

Ruth Riley (WNBA)

Sysannah Scalon (US Olympic Fencer)

Adrian Smith (NFL)

Briana Scurry (US Soccer)

Eric Thibault (Washington Mystics)

Etan Thomas (NBA)

Charles Tillman (Chicago Bears)

Ashley Wagner (US Olympic Figure Skater)

Lardarius Webb (Baltimore Ravens)

Buck Williams (NBA)

Donna Wilkinson (D.C. Divas)

USA Field Hockey

 

The Hop To It Stage will offer a variety of interactive dance and other physical fun including Baby Loves Disco, Hip Hop Public Health, KidTribe, and the Ohmies.

The Ellipse will have an entertainment stage and guests can enjoy musical acts, activities, and a real NASCAR racecar as they prepare to enter the South Lawn. Tommy McFly will be on the Ellipse spinning music and getting guests excited about the event. 

Besides all the entertainment, the younger kids can really look forward to seeing their favorite costume characters help them find the hidden eggs.

This year’s costume characters include:

Abby Cadabby — AbraKidabra! — Angry Birds — Arthur — Belt from The Croods — Big Green Rabbit — Cabbage Patch Kids Amy Sue and Brian Josh  — Caillou and Gilbert — Captain Barnacles Bear and Kwazii Kitten from The Octonauts — Charlie Brown — Charlie and Checkers — Clicky  — Curious George — Daniel Tiger — Doc McStuffins — Doki and Anabella from Discovery Familia — Domino the Great — Dora the Explorer — Dynamike

Emmet and WyldStyle from the very famous LEGO Movie — Fairy Twinkletoes —

Franklin the Turtle — Geo and Milli from Team Umizoomi — Hatching Chick — Jake from Jake and the Never Land Pirates — Little Nutbrown Hare — Maisy — Mama, Papa, and Junior Bunnies — Mario and Luigi — Maya & Miguel — Miffy — Minion Tim and Minion Jerry from Despicable Me — Mop Top the Hip Hop Scientist — Mozzie the Mosquito — Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head — Olive the Ostrich — Peg + Cat — Peter Rabbit and Lily Bobtail — Power Panther — Power Rangers –

Princess Presto – Screech – Slapshot — Smokey Bear — Snoopy — Sofia the First — Spider-Man -SpongeBob SquarePants — Squiggz from the Bug Rangers — Super WHY! — Talking Tom and Talking Ben — The Cat in the Hat — The Racing Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Thomas Jefferson — Tommy and Tallulah from Tickety Toc — Toothless the Dragon from How to Train Your Dragon 2 — Topspin and Slice — Twig Wompkee — Witzy the Duck — Woodsy Owl

It is a full day of fun activities and the schedule looks like this:

With the “Hop into Healthy, Swing into Shape” 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:

Egg Roll Classics

An Egg Hunt & the traditional Egg Roll

Rock ‘n’ Egg Roll Stage

Live musical performances for all ages 

Storytime Stage

Listen as celebrities bring books to life

Hop To It!

An instructional dance party on the South Lawn!  Get up to dance and more 

Eggtivity Zone Obstacle Course

An ultimate all-in-one obstacle course! Climb, jump, and run your way through a variety of sports drills

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

Hatch your inner artist with arts and crafts fun! Egg dying, egg decorating, and more

Play with your Food

An entertaining activity center filled with opportunities to learn about healthy eating

Eggsperiment Zone

Interactive, educational activities designed to spark scientific curiosity and creativity

 

For the sixth 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 30,000 people from all 50 states and the District of Columbia have received tickets to the event. 

This year’s event will begin at 7:30 AM and end at 6:45 PM EDT. It is a day that kids hope will never end.

To learn more about the Easter Egg Roll visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/EasterEggRoll. Tune in for live streams from the South Lawn on April 21, 2014 on WhiteHouse.gov/live. You can also join the conversation online using the hashtag #EasterEggRoll and get the latest updates by checking out Let’s Move! on Twitter and Facebook.

Information released by The White House Press Office and Photo Credits : Google Images