The White House Easter Egg Roll's Big Name? Obama
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This year's White House Easter Egg Roll was supposed to be about two things: healthy living and celebrity appearances.
The First Lady introduced theme of "Ready, Set, Go!" during the opening remarks this morning, standing alongside her family and—of course—the Easter Bunny. Stressing that "in addition to having fun and doing some of the traditional activities like the egg roll," she made it clear that the kids attending would learn more about living a healthy life, having the opportunity to play different sports and learn about nutrition and health at the different stations.
While Obama had great intentions in promoting healthy living, she pretty much lost every kid once she made the mistake of introducing the day's main event:
"If that's not enough, you can go over to music stage and just have some fun with Justin Bieber," she said as wild cheers began to emerge from the crowd. "You guys know Justin Bieber?" she asked coyly. "You've heard of Justin Bieber? Well, he's here!"
Oh, no. Cue the little screaming girls and the reporters standing all around asking, "Who's Justin Bieber?"
"And we have Sara Bareilles, one of my favorites; the cast of Glee. Yay!" The First Lady exclaimed.
But for all the promotion of heart-healthy games and bold-faced names—which also included Reese Witherspoon, Billie Jean King, and J.K. Rowling—the biggest source of excitement at this year's Easter Egg roll was the Obamas themselves.
Aylin Zafar
Little kids don't know who Witherspoon or King are, and a four year-old might appreciate Rowling. Glee was fun, and Justin Bieber drove some little girls to tears, but at the end of the day, kids are kids. The simple joy of the kids rolling their eggs on the lawn, or dyeing them pretty colors, made it pretty clear what mattered at the end of the day. As the Obamas took their turn at the egg rolling station, toddlers ran up to the President and First Lady in awe, and parents shouted out to grab their attention.
Whether or not the live performances lived up to the hype, one thing is clear: J. Bieber's got nothing on the First Family.