White House Ready: Rock & Roll, The Hunt is On

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

April 19, 2011

White House Announces 2011 Easter Egg Roll Program and Talent Line-up

The White House announces the program, activities, and talent line-up for the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll, a tradition in its 133rd year.

This year’s theme is “Get Up and Go!” The theme focuses on promoting health and wellness and encouraging children to lead healthy and active lives. This is a central part of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative, which is a national effort to combat childhood obesity.

The Easter Egg Roll is the largest annual public event at the White House.

• 30,000 people from all 50 states and the District of Columbia have received tickets to the event.
• For the third year in a row, tickets were distributed online. Members of the public from all over the country had the opportunity to enter an online lottery for a chance to win tickets to the event. Over 200,000 tickets were requested via the online lottery, and guests from all 50 states and the District of Columbia were selected as winners.
• The timing for this year’s event has been extended even further than previous years, with a start time of 7:30 AM and an end time of 6:20 PM. 30,000 tickets have been distributed in 5 different groups. Each group of 6,000 guests will be able to spend two full hours on the South Lawn.
• The Ellipse will have an entertainment pavilion. Guests are able to enjoy musical acts and games as they prepare to enter the South Lawn. DJs and the official Emcee of the Easter Egg Roll will be on the Ellipse welcoming guests in, spinning music, and getting the guests excited about their two hours on the South Lawn!
• The entire Easter Egg Roll event, including all of the headliner music acts and Storytime Stage readers, will be broadcast live on www.whitehouse.gov/live. A full schedule will be posted on the morning of April 25th so people from across the country will be able to participate in the event.

With the “Get Up and Go!” theme, all of the activities on the South Lawn promote healthy and active living. The activities include obstacle courses, yoga, dancing, playing sports with professional athletes, and of course, the traditional egg roll. The full list of events is below:

• An Easter egg hunt & the traditional Easter egg roll
• Rockin’ Egg Roll Stage - Live musical performances for all ages.
• Storytime Stage - Celebrities bring books to life.
• Hop To It! - An instructional dance party on the South Lawn! Get up and go jump rope, hula hoop, dance and more.
• Eggtivity Zone Obstacle Course - A series of obstacles and drills, including soccer, football and baseball obstacle courses.
• Basketball and Tennis- Get hands-on training from basketball and tennis pros on the President’s court!
• Yoga Garden - Come enjoy a session of yoga from professional instructors.
• Eggspress Yourself - An arts and crafts workshop filled with egg dying, egg decorating, face painting and more.
• Play with your Food - Family Farmer’s Market, Kids’ Kitchen, Make-your-own Garden, Buzzing about Bees, and more led by the White House chefs and celebrity guest chefs. This activity center is built around the White House Kitchen Garden.

Talent Line-up

Colbie Caillat, Greyson Chance, Willow Smith, Mindless Behavior, John Lithgow, Sesame Street, and Little Beats and DJ WillyWow will perform on the Rockin’ Egg Roll Stage. Colbie Caillat will sing the National Anthem.

Reading on the Storytime Stage will be Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos and family; John Lithgow; Elmo, Maria and Gordon of Sesame Street; John Bemelmans Marciano; Kristi Yamaguchi; and Geena Davis.

Chefs Jacque Pepin, Art Smith and trainer Az Ferguson, Marcella Valladolid, Carla Hall and the White House Chefs will prepare healthy eating demonstrations in the Play with your Food station.

In the Eggtivity Zone, professional players and coaches from professional sports teams will teach kids how to play sports and show kids easy, fun ways to stay active and fit.

Athletes participating in the Eggtivity Zone include Olympic stars Tyson Gay and Bryan Clay; Lorenzo Alexander with the NFL; DC United’s Bryan Namoff, Josh Wolff and Ben Olsen; the Washington Nationals Jim Riggleman, Adam Laroche and Ryan Zimmerman; along with Sean Casey and others.

Alana Beard and Crystal Langstrom from the WNBA, Nick Young from the Wizards, former basketball player Darryl Dawkins, and the Harlem Globetrotters will participate in basketball.

Chris Evert, Katrina Adams, Brian Vahaly, Mal Washington, Patrick Monroe and Chanda Rubin will be joining kids on the tennis courts, along with the Washington Kastles Mascots.

The Hop To It Stage offers a variety of interactive dance, sports, and other physical fun, including Zumba, the National Double Dutch League, the Happiness Club, Rhythm Child, and KidTribe.

The Isiserettes, an Iowa based drill team and drum corp, will perform on the South Lawn, as well as help guide the visitors on and off of the South Lawn. The United States Marine Corps Band will perform again this year.

DJ Rekha and DJ WillyWow will perform on the ellipse. The official Emcee of the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll is Tommy McFly. He will introduce acts on the music stage and get everyone excited about the different Egg Roll activities to make for another wonderful Easter Egg Roll.

Fun Facts for the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll

Ticketing

1) 205,739 tickets were requested through the online public lottery.
2) 48,164 applications were received through the online public lottery.
3) This was the third year an online lottery was used. This gave people from all over the United States the chance to attend.
4) At least one family from all 50 states was successful in the public lottery.
5) About 3,000 tickets were distributed to public schools in DC, Maryland and Virginia.
6) Over 4,000 tickets were distributed to military families.

Eggs

7) The souvenir wooden eggs are available in four pastel colors – purple, green, yellow, and pink. They include the stamped signatures of the President and First Lady.
8) The wooden eggs are produced through a process of wood turning and barrel dying. They are made in the US from FSC-certified, US hardwood.
9) The souvenir wooden eggs will be given to children 12 and younger at the event.
10) A total of 83,000 souvenir wooden eggs were produced for this year’s event.
11) The National Park Foundation produces and sells the rest of the souvenir wooden eggs. You can purchase them at http://easter.nationalparks.org/ .
12) 14,500 hard-boiled and dyed eggs will be used between the egg roll and the egg hunt.
13) 4,500 boiled white eggs will be decorated at the Egg Dying station throughout the course of the day.
14) “Chirping eggs” will be available for visually impaired children participating in the Egg Roll and Egg Hunt.

Healthy Activities

15) The activities are centered on the theme of the event, “Get Up and Go!” The theme is based on the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative to encourage healthy and active living.
16) The Play with your Food station is a hands-on environment that enforces the message that nutritious eating is both delicious and energizing.
17) What’s in Season features seasonal produce from the White House gardens and local organic farms. Kids can explore the different fruits and vegetables, learn about seasonal eating, and learn how to find fresh produce in the junior farmer’s market.
18) Kids are able to take home seedling cups in egg cartons to start their own garden in Make Your Own Garden.
19) Children will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of basketball and tennis from professional athletes on the President’s court.
20) Kids will be able to relax and learn yoga moves in the Yoga Garden.
21) The Egg Roll is accessible to children in wheelchairs with the addition of wheelchair matting.

History

22) The Easter Egg Roll is a White House tradition dating back to 1878 and President Rutherford B. Hayes, but there are records of informal egg rolling events as early as Abraham Lincoln’s administration.
23) After the Civil War, egg rolling often took place on the Capitol building’s grounds. But by 1876, Congressmen grew tired of the torn up grounds and rowdy crowds and passed a law prohibiting the use of the Capitol Grounds as a play area.
24) On Easter day in 1878, when the ban on egg rolling at the Capitol went into effect, some claim that President Hayes saw tearful children while riding by the Capitol Grounds in his carriage and invited them to play on the White House lawn.
25) By 1899, the White House Easter Egg Roll had become quite popular, with over 8,000 people in attendance. This year, over 30,000 were invited to attend the event.
26) The Easter Egg Roll has been held at the White House every year except during World War I, World War II and the Truman Renovation of the White House, when it was moved to other Washington locations or cancelled.
27) President Ronald Reagan was the first President to hide autographed eggs for children to find in the Egg Hunt.
28) President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon were the first to include the White House Easter Bunny in the festivities.
29) President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush were the first to affix the signature of the President and First Lady to the commemorative egg.
30) First Lady Grace Coolidge was known for her love of pets, but none were more famous than her pet raccoon, Rebecca, who made an appearance at the White House Easter Egg Roll in the 1920’s.

Easter Bunny and Ceremony

31) The First Lady is the official host of the White House Easter Egg Roll.
32) The event cannot officially be called the White House Easter Egg Roll until the opening ceremony, when the Easter Bunny makes an appearance.

Poster Contest

33) The White House held a poster competition and invited local Elementary and Middle school children in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia to submit entries for the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll Official Poster.
34) There were a total of 464 posters submitted from 135 schools.
35) Students were asked to incorporate this year’s theme, “Get Up and Go!” into their posters.
36) The First Lady selected the winning designs. There were two winners again this year.
37) Morgan Ferrans was selected for the official 2011 Easter Egg Roll Program Cover. Morgan is twelve years old and attends Maryvale Preparatory School in Brooklandville, Maryland.
38) Alyssa Pendergast’s submission was selected for the official 2011 Easter Egg Roll Poster. Alyssa is twelve years old and attends Harper Park Middle School in Leesburg, Virginia.
39) Morgan and Alyssa will be attending the White House Easter Egg Roll along with their classes, teachers and parents.

Sustainability

40) All goody bags are recyclable and are made from recycled materials.
41) The packaging of the eggs, made from recyclable paperboard, was designed to minimize waste and environmental impact.
42) The wooden souvenir eggs are made in the US from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) - certified US hardwood.
43) 90 trash bins and 90 recycling bins will be placed throughout the South Lawn and Ellipse.

Volunteers

44) 10 professional American Sign Language interpreters are volunteering their time for the event. There will also be 6 nurses and 2 physicians from George Washington University.
45) The White House Easter Egg Roll is made possible by the hard work of close to 1,200 volunteers.
46) All volunteers attended at least one training session and some traveled from as far away as Germany to be part of this year’s event.
47) Many volunteers will arrive for their shifts as early as 5:00 AM to help get the Easter Egg Roll rolling.

Fun in Numbers

48) The Egg Roll will use 72 wooden spoons and 8 whistles.
49) The event will incorporate almost 60 volunteer face painters.
50) 2,000 eggs will be used to provide breakfast for the volunteers.

--Amazingly somebody omitted from above:
White House Easter Egg Roll will be held Monday, April 25, 2011


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President - Schedule, Solar Investment, Passover

President Obama
Schedule Tuesday April 19, 2011

8:35 am
The President hosts an Easter Prayer Breakfast
East Room
Pooled Press

10:15 am
The President holds a town hall to discuss his vision for reducing our debt and bringing down our deficit, based on the values of shared responsibility and shared prosperity
Annandale Campus, Northern Virginia Community College
Open Press

3:25 pm
The President meets with a broad group of business, law enforcement, faith, and current and former elected and appointed leaders from across the political spectrum on the importance of fixing our nation's broken immigration system for our 21st century eco
State Dining Room
Closed Press

4:30 pm
The President meets with Secretary of Defense Gates
Oval Office
Closed Press

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THE WHITE HOUSE
~ENERGY~

We're in the Global Clean Energy Race to Win: Federal Investment in California Solar Energy Plant

Posted by Secretary Steven Chu on April 18, 2011 at 03:57 PM EDT

I have good news. Today, the Department of Energy offered a $2.1 billion conditional commitment loan guarantee to support a concentrating solar thermal power plant near Blythe, California. This is the largest amount ever offered to a solar project through our the Department's Loan Programs Office.

The loan will support two units of the Blythe Solar Power Project that will have a combined 484 megawatt generating capacity. These units are part of a larger project, sponsored by Solar Trust of America, that when completed will generate 1,000 megawatts of solar power, enough to power 95,000 homes a year.

The project is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs and is estimated to avoid more than 710,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, which is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from more han 123,000 vehicles.

The Department's loan guarantees play a critical role in facilitating the large-scale deployment of innovative clean energy technologies. Including loans for advanced vehicle technologies, the Department has committed financing to support 27 clean energy projects that will create or save more than 60,000 jobs across the U.S.

Today, we are in a global race to develop and deploy clean energy technologies. We can either sit on the sidelines and watch the competition pass us by or we can get in the race and play to win.

When we rev up the great American innovation machine, we can out-compete any other nation.

To spur innovation and grow the domestic clean energy market, President Obama has proposed doubling the amount of electricity we generate from clean energy sources by 2035. Investments in projects like the Blythe Solar Power Project will help meet this goal while creating jobs and positioning the U.S. to lead in the solar industry.

Steven Chu is the United States Secretary of Energy.

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THE WHITE HOUSE
~EVENT~










Passover Seder First night at the White House

Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? Recipes for Passover

Posted by Danielle Borrin on April 18, 2011 at 03:36 PM EDT

Tonight and tomorrow night, Jewish families and friends in the United States and around the world will gather for Seders to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt and the triumph of hope and perseverance over injustice and oppression. For most Jewish families, the Passover meal is full traditions passed down through the generations like the maror, or bitter herbs, which symbolize the bitterness of slavery in Egypt or the matzoh, unleavened bread, which recalls the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt – giving them no time to allow their bread to rise.

While some families hold the secret to the fluffiest matzoh balls in town, others have created new traditions to share with their families and friends.

Here at the White House tonight, President and Mrs. Obama will again host a small Seder, complete with recipes provided by friends and family. It’s a tradition that started in Pennsylvania in 2008, when after a long day on the campaign trail then-Senator Obama gathered a group of staffers – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – for an impromptu Seder. Each year since, the same group, along with a few close friends and family, have come together to carry on the tradition at the White House. Among the family recipes on the menu this year are a traditional chicken soup with matzoh balls, braised beef brisket, potato kugel, carrot soufflé, and matzoh chocolate cake.

As the eight days of Passover begin tonight, we reached out to eight Jewish chefs around the country to share their own thoughts, menus and recipes for a healthy, satisfying Seder. We hope these recipes will give you some new ideas for your own Passover traditions.

We’re grateful to these participating chefs:

* Joan Nathan, Cookbook Author, Washington, DC - Moroccan Charoset Truffles (pdf)
* Todd Aarons, Executive Chef of Tierra Sur at Herzog Wine Cellars, Oxnard, CA - Persian Style Chicken Soup (pdf)
* Michelle Bernstein, Chef and Owner of Michy’s and Sra. Martinez, Miami, FL - Moroccan Spiced Cornish Hens (pdf)
* Gail Gand, Pastry Chef of Tru, Chicago, IL - Passover Lemon Sponge Cake with Strawberries (pdf)
* Joyce Goldstein, Cookbook Author and Guest Chef for Passover Seder at Perbacco Restaurant, San Francisco, CA - Spinach with Pine Nuts and Raisins (pdf)
* Peter Hoffman, Chef of Savoy Restaurant, New York, NY - Tahrir Square Salad (pdf)
* Michael Leviton, Chef of Lumiere, Newton, MA - Maple-Mustard Glazed Smoked Sable (pdf)
* Michael Solomonov, Chef of Zahav, Philadelphia, PA - Carrot and Apple Salad with Pine Nuts (pdf)

Chag Sameach!

Note: These commentaries, menus and recipes are products of the chefs themselves.

Danielle Borrin is the Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and liaison to the Jewish community.

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Note: Header photo - cherry trees in blossom on White House lawn enjoyed by Bo, furry now fully-grown Obama family member


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tag: solar energy panel production investment job added creation federal vision investment, Passover Jewish event holiday religious two-night sedar Seder April 18 - 19, 2011, Christian Easter prayer

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White House: Christmas 2010

The Official White House Christmas Tree stands in the Blue Room of the White House, Dec. 4, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph.