Our generation may never witness a family like the Obamas again. President Barack Obama and family hosted their final White House Easter Egg Roll. The annual celebration occurs one day following Easter.
This year, guests included Beyoncé, Jay Z, Blue Ivy, Shaq O’Neal, and Silento to name a few. Over 30,000 attendees were able to participate in events that included the traditional Egg Roll Classics, Storytime Stage, Eggtivity Zone, and the Yoga Garden.
The president and first lady opened the ceremony by pointing out the significance of hosting their final Egg Roll.
“This is always one of our favorite events of the year,” President Obama said. “It’s so much fun. I don’t want to talk too long, but I do want to make sure that everybody thanks our outstanding Marine band, who does such a great job. I want to thank all the volunteers who have helped to make this day possible.”
Michelle Obama followed by discussing the importance of making the White House an inclusive place that allows the arts and culture to thrive.
“If we think about what we’ve accomplished over these past seven years, it’s pretty incredible,” the first lady said. “Because when Barack and I first got here, one of the goals that we had was to open up the White House to as many people from as many backgrounds as possible. So open it up to our kids, to our musicians, to explore our culture, to expose families to healthy living, and to just have a lot of fun. Since we started having Easter Egg Rolls, we’ve had more than 250,000 people come to this lawn every year. It’s been amazing. Today we’re going to have 35,000 people who will come in and out of the South Lawn over the course of the day. And we couldn’t be more excited for this last Easter Egg Roll. So we just want you to have fun. And the theme this year in our final year is pretty simple. It’s: Let’s celebrate. Let’s celebrate all the good work that we’ve done, all the great messaging we’ve had. All the amazing change that we’ve seen in this country. And we want to celebrate our families. We want to celebrate our nation — everything that makes us strong. It’s our diversity, it’s our values. That’s what makes us strong. ”
Photos: A.R. Shaw
