Easter Egg Roll Race, 2019

In this photograph, taken by Matthew D'Agostino for the White House Historical Association, a child participates in an Easter Egg Roll race during the White House Easter Egg Roll, which was held on April 22, 2019. In hosting the Easter Egg Roll, First Lady Melania Trump continued a time-honored tradition at the White House, which has offered varying spring activities throughout its 141-year history. However, only minor changes have occurred to the namesake Egg Roll since it was played during the first White House Egg Roll, hosted by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. Children still roll eggs down the South Lawn, but the challenge is no longer to see how far the brightly-colored, hard-boiled eggs can be pushed until they crack. In 1974, First Lady Patricia Nixon hosted the first Egg Roll Race, and since then children have enjoyed competing to see who can roll their egg to the end of their lane the fastest.