White House Easter Egg Roll event information and history

Children participate in the traditional egg roll at the 2013 event.

NPS/E. Yoder

The White House Easter Egg Roll is a popular event hosted by the White House. The South Lawn of the White House is filled with exciting activities for the whole family, including storytime, games, live entertainment, and the traditional Easter Egg Roll.

Apply Through the Online Lottery to Attend
Event tickets are required and are distributed through a lottery. The 2020 White House Easter Egg Roll lottery was held from February 18, 2020 at 10am EST to February 24, 2020 at 10am EST. Winners were notified via email on March 4, 2020. There is no charge to enter the lottery.

Commemorative Easter Eggs
The Official 2020 White House Easter Eggs come in five spring colors — Gold, Blue, Green, Pink, and Yellow—and feature the White House North Portico on the front and the President and First Lady’s signatures on the back. Festively packaged, these collectable, one-of-a-kind White House Easter Eggs arrive ready to be gifted and can be purchased at shop.whitehousehistory.org starting on March 12, 2020.

History of the Egg Roll
In the 1870s, Capitol Hill had become a popular spot for children to roll eggs - and themselves - down the hill on Easter Monday. As the event grew more popular, the toll on the grounds was noticeable. In 1876, Congress passed a law forbidding the Capitol grounds to be used as a children's playground. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes issued an order that if any children should come to the White House to roll their Easter eggs, they would be allowed to do so. The tradition has been carried on since, and has grown into the major event you can experience today. For more information on past White House Easter Egg Roll events, visit the White House Historical Association's website.