Get your spoons ready! The 2024 White House Easter Egg Roll is set for Easter Monday, April 1 on the South Lawn. The popular annual event is free to the public, but the highly sought-after tickets are distributed through an online lottery system.
The lottery started Monday morning and will be open for entries until Monday, March 4 at 12 PM. Since the event is centered around younger children, the application requires at least one child under the age of 12 and one adult to be valid. One application is allowed per household, with a maximum of six tickets, including two adults. The lottery application includes seven different time slots to choose from, from 8:15 AM to 7 PM, but applicants can choose multiple time slots if they’re flexible.
Notifications for winners will go out over email on March 11.
The Egg Roll started in the 1870s as a small act of presidential rebellion. At the time, local children loved to spend their Easter Monday rolling eggs along Capitol Hill, but this created issues for the Capitol’s landscaping. In 1876, Congress passed a law that barred children from treating the Capitol grounds as a playground. (Boo!) Two years later, President Rutherford B. Hayes was moved by the plight of disappointed would-be egg rollers with, well, nowhere to roll. He released an official order stating that any children who wanted to roll eggs on Easter Monday would be welcome to do so on the White House’s South Lawn. Successive presidents continued the practice.
The modern iteration of the Egg Roll also features an Egg Hunt with special prizes, live entertainment from special guests, and arts and crafts activities. You’ll even see appearances from the President, the First Lady, and everyone’s favorite rabbit: The Easter Bunny. According to the White House, the event saw about 30,000 attendees in 2023 and expects a bigger turnout this year.
Attendees also receive a commemorative wooden egg, designed by the white House Historical Association. This year’s new designs have yet to be released, but last year’s eggs, with cameos from the Biden’s pets, are currently on sale ahead of the upcoming release.
The 2024 theme has also yet to be officially announced, but the past two years were centered around “EGGucation”. In a nod to Dr. Jill Biden’s career as an educator, the lawn was adorned with reading nooks, “snack time” tents, and a “school house” with educational activities and games.
If you don’t have younger kids but still want to be involved in the festivities, you can apply to be an Egg Roll volunteer anytime before 12 PM on March 4.
