Arts & Entertainment

Bidens welcome thousands of children to White House for Easter Egg Roll event

Washington, Apr 10 (EFE).- US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday hosted the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House’s South Lawn, an event in which thousands of children participated.

That spring-time tradition dates back to 1878, two years after the US Congress had voted to restrict public use of the Capitol grounds for egg-rolling games.

That year, then-President Rutherford B. Hayes for the first time opened the lawn of the presidential residence to a group of children for that race, in which kids use a long-handled spoon to push hard-boiled eggs across the grass to a finish line.

On this Easter Monday, the Bidens, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, were the ones extending a welcome to a new generation of young people.

“What I see, looking across the South Lawn, is a country made up of possibilities,” the president told the crowd from a balcony of the White House’s South Portico, flanked by two people in Easter Bunny costumes. “Anything is possible in America if we remember who we are and we do it together.”

The president spent a few minutes greeting and taking photos with children and even used a whistle to officiate some of the races.

But it was Biden’s wife, who worked as a classroom teacher for more than 30 years, who put her stamp on this event for the second straight year.

The first lady was tasked with organizing the different activities that unfolded on the South Lawn, where some 30,000 visitors participated in the egg races and education-themed activities throughout the day, including thousands of children of military personnel.

“As your first lady and as a teacher, I’ve seen again and again: Learning doesn’t only happen in the classroom,” she said. “There are so many fun opportunities to learn around us every day.”

In addition to the races, this year’s White House Easter “EGGucation” Roll featured a School House Activity Area, Reading Nook, Talent Show, Field Trip to the Farm, Picture Day, a Physical ‘EGGucation’ Zone, a Snack Time Tent and more.

NASA also sent one of the wooden Official White House Easter Eggs up to the International Space Station so astronauts can “demonstrate the laws of gravity to students everywhere.”

The White House Easter Egg Roll was canceled for two years due to concerns about the spread of Covid-19, but the Bidens resumed that tradition in 2022. EFE

er/mc

Related Articles

Back to top button