Rain dampens the 1st White House Easter Egg Roll since 2019

The White House Easter Egg Roll is back for the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic.

Under rainy skies Monday, President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, hosted the first of some 30,000 kids and adults for an all-day event the first lady has dubbed the “egg-ucation roll.” The COVID-19 pandemic led the White House to cancel the Easter Egg Roll in 2020 and 2021. But the event is back this year, as the outbreak of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths has eased.

“This year we're finally getting together again, and it's so special,” the president told the guests gathered on the South Lawn for the celebration.

For the egg roll, the first lady, who is a community college professor, turned the South Lawn into a school community with a variety of educational stations.

''The determined spirit of education is what we wanted to honour in this Easter Egg Roll,'' Jill Biden said in brief welcoming remarks.

Besides the egg roll and an egg hunt, the event includes a schoolhouse activity area, a reading nook, a talent show, a place to teach about farming, a photo-taking station, a physical “egg-ucation” zone with an obstacle course, and a “cafetorium” where children will learn to make treats.

“Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, singer Ciara and actor-singer Kristin Chenoweth were set to add a dash of celebrity splash to the “egg-stravaganza.” More than two dozen costumed characters were on hand, including Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, the Racing Presidents mascots for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball, Rosita and Cookie Monster from “Sesame Street” and Snoopy and Charlie Brown, among others.

The event kicked off at around 7 am, with the first of five waves of people, including kids wearing their Easter best, streaming through the White House gates.

The White House Easter Egg Roll dates to 1878.