Accessibility links

Breaking News
USA

Obamas Host Annual Easter Egg Roll Featuring 'Fun Run'

update

Obama's Host Annual Easter Egg Roll
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:00:46 0:00

The Annual White House Easter Egg roll was held Monday at the White House with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle presiding over 35,000 participants.

Opening the festivities from a balcony overlooking the lawn, Michelle Obama admitted to some mixed emotions

"Today is a little bit bittersweet for us, because this is the Obama Administration's last Easter Egg roll ... Yaah!!" the first lady said. "And if you think about what we have accomplished over these past seven years, it is pretty incredible. Because when Barack and I first got here, one of the goals that we had was to open up the White House to as many people from as many backgrounds as possible, to open it up to our kids, to our musicians, to explore our culture, to expose families to healthy living and to just have a lot of fun."

The Obamas came with dogs Bo and Sunny, and the Easter Bunny at their side to officially start the egg roll.

More than 35,000 people received tickets - won through a lottery, that allowed them to walk the grounds of the White House.

The first lady said she wanted to celebrate families and the nation in what will be the couple's last Easter in office.

The egg rolling began in 1878. Now the event includes storytelling, musical performances and tips from professional athletes on how to play basketball, tennis and other sports.

There are even cooking demonstrations, yoga, and, this year, the first lady added a fun run to the mix.

The fun run is intended to highlight the first lady's "Let's Move!'' initiative, which focuses on reducing childhood obesity.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG