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The 2012 White House Easter Egg Roll

Summary: 
Check out all the fun happening on the South Lawn for this year's Easter Egg Roll.
Easter Egg Roll 2012 Poster

Reed Preston Lindsey, a nine-year-old attending Anderson Elementary in Booneville, Mississippi, was the co-winner of the contest. His artwork was chosen as the 2012 Official Easter Egg Roll Poster. Reed won first place in the Mississippi Public Broadcasting writing contest two years in a row for writing and illustrating Roscoe Wants a Red Feather and Troy’s Next Stop........Mars! respectively.

Today, the First Family is hosting the 134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Throughout the day, more than 30,000 people will gather on the South Lawn for games, snacks, music and, of course, the Egg Roll.

The tradition of the Easter Egg Roll dates back to 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes welcomed children to the White House to roll hard-boiled eggs down the sloping hills of the South Lawn. This year, some 14,500 dyed and hard-boiled eggs will be used for the game.

This year’s theme is “Let’s Go, Let’s Play, Let’s Move!” and  focuses on promoting health and wellness and encouraging children to lead healthy and active lives. Activities at today's event include:

  • Musical performances on the Rock n' Egg Roll Stage from artists Janelle Monae, Cody Simpson, Rachel Crow, Sesame Street, Zendaya, China Ann McClain and the McClain Sisters
  • Reading on the Storytime Stage with Robin Roberts, Julianne Moore, Jeff Kinney from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Etan Thomas, Forest Whitaker and Bella Thorne
  • An Eggtivity Zone featuring an obstacle course, players and coaches from professional sports teams teaching kids fun ways to stay active and fit
  • Healthy eating and food demonstrations at the Play with your Food station with Chefs Andrew Zimmern, Richard Blais, Marcus Samuelsson, Paul Qui, Carla Hall, Pat and Gina Neel,; Bryan Voltaggio and the White House

Download the program and activity book for this year’s event, and catch all the fun as it happens on obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/live. Also visit the 2012 Easter Egg Roll page for more photo galleries and videos from years past.

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