WASHINGTON – The last time the White House hosted an Easter egg, the president abandoned the Easter bunny and informed a child on its border wall. Phrases such as “masking ordinance” and “rapid testing” were not yet part of the national lexicon. The crown was just beer.
The world has changed in indescribable ways since 2019, the last time 100,000 eggs were wildly broken on the southern lawn. President Biden spent his first year in office, abandoning most of the traditional events that could help dull the daily stress of being commander-in-chief. But rain was the only intervention on Monday, as the president and Jill Biden, the first lady, hosted the first egg roll since the coronavirus pandemic began, the biggest event at the White House since they moved.
“We’re finally getting back together this year, and it’s so special,” said Mr. Biden from the White House balcony, surrounded by the first lady and the Easter Bunny. “It means so much to see and hear the children and all the families who come here today.”
The coronavirus seemed like a distant concern, despite numerous cases this month among members of the Capitol Hill administration and Democrats. A number of assistants who have tested positive in recent weeks have returned to their offices. Some egg-rolling families who were invited to the White House for breakfast were tested beforehand, although not all attendees were required to be tested, an official said.
About 30,000 people were given tickets through the White House lottery, which is open to the public, and they attended from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday morning, visitors moving on the lawn seemed to mind the rain cold or the threat from Covid. Several members of Biden’s family were present, including the president’s 2-year-old grandson, whom Biden joked was still a little “startled” by the sight of a huge Easter bunny.
After greeting the guests, the president came down from the balcony and performed his first official duty of the day: he blew the ceremonial whistle to start the egg roll competition. (Mr. Biden had no other public events on his schedule, but he had to receive his daily briefing later in the afternoon.)
“Joe, you’re right in the middle of the egg,” Dr. Biden told the president, who took the egg roll course just before one of the races began.
But the commander-in-chief was in control. He blew his whistle and ran off the road, avoiding the eggs and the pastel chaos.
Crowds of attendees made their way through several educational themed stations across the White House.
“The resolute spirit of education is what we wanted to honor in this Easter egg roll,” said Dr. Biden, a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College. “So we turned South Lawn into a school community.”
At one station, the children learned about the life cycle of an egg as it passed from the hen to the home. In a nearby tent, a chef prepared to present a cooking demonstration next to a miniature White House made of 1,500 meringue pasta. Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, Ciara singer, Broadway actress Christine Chenoet and several Sesame Street characters were available in various locations.
At another station, children searched for some of the 100,000 eggs that were hand-painted and donated to the White House by farmers with the American Egg Board, one of the event’s oldest sponsors. Remains of quiche, sandwiches and cookies decorated with images of the commander and Willow, White House pets, will be donated to a local food pantry, officials said.
“It’s just a chance for us to go out and promote eggs,” said Andy Seger, a farmer from Dubois, India, who brought his four children to the event. “Two long years have passed.”
For Stephen Durphy, a California-based chef who spent his day watching the White House made of meringues, the focus was on seeing Biden up close for the first time. He said he met with Dr. Biden earlier in the day and was able to ask her several questions, including about her favorite room in the White House. (It was the Blue Room.)
The Egg Roll was the second major event on the lawn in recent weeks: The White House opened its gates to visitors for garden tours this month. Tours of the White House’s interior resumed on Friday and are scheduled to take place every week.
Stuart D. McClorin, president of the White House Historical Association, said the return of the egg roll was an encouraging sign that the Biden administration would continue to open the White House to visitors.
“This is the biggest event that will take place at the White House every year,” he said. “We have not had this event in the last two years. We were very eager for this to happen and for this accessibility to be restored. “
Carlos Elizondo, the White House’s social secretary, said the first family “looks forward to hosting more events in the coming months and sharing the White House with the American people.”
Mr McClorin said he could say that public interest in egg rolls has increased with the weakening of coronavirus restrictions. This year, he said, the White House Historical Association sold 50,000 handmade wooden eggs that mark the event each year.
This year’s eggs featured White House pets and the signatures of the president and first lady. Each child received a commemorative wooden egg for home.
Mr McClorin said the association spends about $ 750,000 each year on Easter eggs and plans to order up to 80,000 wooden eggs for next year’s event.
Planning will begin almost immediately.
“It’s a very complicated process,” he said.
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