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WASHINGTON — The lottery for the 2015 White House Easter Egg Roll opened Monday and will give lucky citizens a chance to participate in a 137-year-old tradition.
The White House Easter Egg Roll started in 1878 and has been hosted by U.S. presidents ever since. Originally, young children in Washington, D.C., would flock to Capitol Hill the Monday after Easter to enjoy a day of egg rolling and other activities, according to a Recreation.gov news release. However, tired of the crowds, members of Congress passed an act of Congress that prohibited egg rolling on the Capitol grounds.
The event was moved to the White House after children asked President Rutherford B. Hayes if they could use his backyard to roll eggs, the news release said. Now the event has grown to become the largest event held at the White House each year.
The White House Easter Egg Roll will be held April 6 and will include cooking demonstrations, the egg roll, an Easter egg hunt, sports and fitness zones, live music and storytelling, according to a White House news release. The theme for the event is #GimmeFive and will encourage children to be healthy and active, in coordination with first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative.
Participants will also be eligible to receive a souvenir Easter egg with the stamped signature of President Barack Obama and the first lady. A set of American Birchwood souvenir eggs will also be available, sporting the paw print “signatures” of the Obamas' dogs, Bo and Sunny.
The souvenir eggs first became part of the egg rolling tradition in 1981 when President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan hosted a hunt for wooden eggs that bore the signatures of actors, actresses, famous politicians and athletes, the White House news release said.
The lottery to attend the event will be open from Monday to Thursday at 12 p.m. EST. Signing up for the lottery is free and the winning tickets are also free. Lottery applicants must have a child age 13 or younger.
The White House is also inviting elementary and middle school students to submit original artwork for the event. The artwork must be related to the #GimmeFive theme, and Michelle Obama will select two winning designs, which will be used as part of the White House Easter Egg Roll program and souvenir poster.
Artwork submissions must be submitted by March 6 at 12 p.m. EST.
