The Key West Harry S. Truman Foundation invites kids and their adult companions to get a hop, skip and jump on Easter celebrations during the fifth annual Easter Egg Roll, from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 9 on the grounds of the Harry S. Truman Little White House, 111 Front St., in Key West.
The Key West event started five years ago in the tradition of the White House event in Washington, D.C. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the lawn of the White House on Easter Monday so children could roll their eggs.
In an effort to conserve food during World War I, the roll was canceled in 1918, and again from 1943 through 1952.
During the war years, the roll was canceled to conserve food; and while the Trumans were renovating the White House from 1948 to 1952, the South Lawn was a construction site.
In 1969, President and Mrs. Nixon began the tradition of the White House Easter Bunny. President and Mrs. Reagan introduced the wooden Easter eggs in 1981, a tradition that continues today in both Washington and Key West.
Admission to the spring revelry in Key West is free and includes the famous egg roll and egg hunt, arts and crafts activities, pictures with the Easter Bunny, and live music. Children 12 and under will receive a commemorative wooden egg and a springtime cookie. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
The Key West Harry S. Truman Foundation, a not for profit organization, was launched in 2002 to preserve Florida’s only presidential museum, the Key West Little White House, and to provide programming that supports civic engagement, education and the historic and cultural influences of the Truman era. Through April, individuals and businesses wishing to support the foundation and its mission can order colorful ‘Easter egg’ lawn signs, which can be delivered to your door. For more information, visit trumanlittlewhitehouse.org/foundation/events.
The Harry S. Truman Little White House is open daily from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. More information about the Little White House Easter Egg Roll is available from Brooke Atwell at (305) 294-9911 or via email at Brooke.Atwell@historictours.com.
