2010 Easter Egg Roll Dates Announced

While those of us in the DC area are still trying to figure out which Norse gods we've angered, and why they continue to assault us with wave after wave of snowstorms, it would be appropriate to take a look ahead at the upcoming spring.

Most immediate is the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. An Easter tradition since Dolly Madison's time, the Egg Roll was moved by to the White House Lawn by Lemonade Lucy Rutherford in 1878. A fun fact: Lucy Rutherford was such a strict temperance advocate that she refused to serve alcohol at White House functions. Well except for when the Russian Grand Duke came. Which is a bummer, because serving a Russian Grand Duke Lemonade could have been one of history's great clashes.

Anyway, back to the present day, the White House has announced that this year's event will be Monday, April 5th. In addition to the traditional egg roll and goofy costumes, events will be focused on Michelle Obama's initiative Let's Move, a program to fight child obesity. So don't plan on lots of chocolate and peeps being handed out.

Now, as we discussed last year, the Obama White House is trying something new with distribution of tickets. No longer will folks be waiting up all night in person trying to snag one of the first-come, first-served tickets. Last year, the White House moved to an online distribution scheme, which was not an unmitigated success. But, learning from their mistakes, this year tickets will be handed out slightly differently. Rather than create a massive on-line traffic jam, folks can register from Thursday, February 24th to Sunday, February 28th. No rush, just make sure you sign up at some point in that time frame at Recreation.gov. Then, on March 1st, a lottery will be held, with results being announced March 4th.

All very simple, and we're happy to see that the White House isn't afraid to ditch last years system for a better one. This new system looks to be fairer and less stressful all around.

Obama Sighting?

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that Michelle Obama was scheduled to appear at the Library of Congress for a Read Across America event sponsored by the National Education Association. Sadly, they had to cancel due to the snow.

So much for "flinty Chicago toughness", eh Mr. President? Funny, I managed to get my kid to school.

I hope they reschedule. All kidding aside, the Obamas are regularly out and about in Washington, so the chance for your average tourist to see the President have gone up from "negligible" to "slim".