President Obama, First Lady Open The 2012 White House Easter Egg Roll

After "Special Guest" the Easter Bunny appeared on the Truman Balcony at 10:43 AM, the First Family followed moments later to kick off the 134th annual Easter Egg Roll. President Obama introduced his wife, hailing First Lady Michelle Obama as "the powerhouse of the White House, the one truly in charge, as Malia, Sasha and Bo all know."

The First Powerhouse was clad in neon Easter colors: A yellow sweater, a red top, purple pants, and bright blue ballet flats, her hair in a bun as she stepped up to the mic to cheers, surrounded by Malia and Sasha, First Grandmother Mrs. Marion Robinson and First Dog Bo.

"I think the President is going to try to beat a three-year-old" in an Easter egg rolling contest, Mrs. Obama quipped. The First Lady encouraged the guests to enjoy themselves, listing all the day's events designed to promote the Let's Move! campaign, from celebrity chefs doing cooking demonstrations to sports stars in the Eggtivity Zone to a Yoga Garden.

"It's a wonderful day, and I hope you all enjoy it," Mrs. Obama said to more cheers. "I hope you put on your comfortable shoes. We've got ours on, right, all the Obamas here."

The first of five waves of 6,000 guests had already romped through the very busy South Lawn when the First Lady "officially" opened this year's Roll, the largest and longest in White House history, with more than 35,000 total guests expected.

"Let's go, Let's play, Let's move!" Mrs. Obama said, to even more cheers.

13-year-old singing sensation Rachel Crow sang the National Anthem, after performing on the Rockin' Egg Roll Stage at about 7:30 AM for the first group of guests. Crow got a hug from Mrs. Obama when she finished. The President and Mrs. Obama, as they finished their welcome, walked down the steps and on to the South Lawn to greet guests.

DOWNLOAD the 2012 White House Easter Egg Roll Program by clicking here; it describes the events and stations on the South Lawn [PDF]. CLICK HERE for all posts about the Roll, including the talent line-up.

The transcript:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________

For Immediate Release
April 9, 2012

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AND THE FIRST LADY
AT THE WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL

South Lawn
The White House

10:46 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody! (Applause.) How about Rachel Crow? Give her a big round of applause. (Applause.)

I want to wish everybody a wonderful Easter. And we are so thrilled that all of you could join us here today. My job is very simple: It is to introduce the powerhouse of the White House, the one truly in charge, as Malia, Sasha and Bo all know -- the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. (Applause.)

MRS. OBAMA: Thank you, honey. (Applause.) My job is simple as well. I just want to officially welcome you all to the White House Easter Egg Roll. It is a beautiful day, perfect weather. We are so excited to have you all here. We've got a great set of activities planned for you. There's something for everyone. We're going to be over there doing a little egg roll. I think the President is going to try to beat a three-year-old -- which I hope he does not. (Laughter.)

But we also have a wonderful yoga garden. We've got some story-time guests. We've got great readers here this year, as we do every year. You can get your face painted. We've got wonderful musical guests. Rachel was amazing, and she's a really sweet kid, which is more important. We've got wonderful athletes here. We've got Chris Evert -- my gosh. (Applause.) And many, many others -- the Harlem Globetrotters are here. (Applause.) You can do an obstacle course. We're going to be down at the kitchen learning how to do some healthy cooking with the -- some of our celebrity chefs.

So it's a wonderful day, and I hope you all enjoy it. I hope you put on your comfortable shoes. We've got ours on, right, all the Obamas here.

So on behalf of our family, I also want to wish you all a happy Easter and a happy Easter Egg Roll. So in the theme of this year's Easter Egg Roll, let's go, let's play -- let's move! (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. Have a great time. We'll see you down there. (Applause.)

END 10:48 A.M. EDT
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