2011 White House Easter Egg Roll Lottery Ticket Process Announced

Date: March 8, 2011

The White House has announced that the White House Egg Roll will be held on Monday, April 25, 2011. This year's event, with the theme of "Get Up and Go!", will feature live music, sports courts, cooking stations, storytelling and, of course, Easter egg rolling. All of the activities will encourage children to lead healthy and active lives and follow the First Lady's 'Let's Move!' initiative, a national campaign to combat childhood obesity.

This is the second year the tickets will be distributed through the on-line lottery on www.recreation.gov allowing guests from across the United States to participate in a tradition that dates back to 1878. In 2010, over 57,000 applications were submitted from all 50 states and many countries for the Easter Egg Roll. The lottery will open for entries on March 10^th at 12:01am EST and close on March 13^th at 11:59pm EST.

Applications can be submitted on-line at www.recreation.gov or through a toll free telephone number (877)-444-6777 or for TDD [phone]. Since 2009, the National Park Service, National Park Foundation and the White House have used the lottery to distribute tickets for the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and the White House Easter Egg Roll.

"The lottery system made possible on Recreation.gov has been a great tool to ensure a fair and accessible approach to distribute tickets for two popular events, the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and the White House Easter Egg Roll" said Deputy National Park Service Liaison to the White House, John Stanwich.

The ticket lottery for these national events is just an example of the range of applications that National Park Service areas across the system are utilizing through the services of Recreation.gov.  Currently Recreation.gov offers advanced reservations at more than 2,700 federal campgrounds, picnic areas, and tours in seven agencies including the National Park Service, US Forest Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and the National Archives and Records Administration. In 2011, 48 parks including Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Mammoth Cave, Washington Monument, Big Bend, and Great Smoky Mountains use Recreation.gov to provide advanced reservation services for camping, picnic pavilions, and tours.