Thousands are expected to attend the White House Easter Egg Roll, with the Trumps presiding

WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump expected to welcome people to the first White House Easter Egg Roll of his second term though the annual event could turn soggy with scattered showers in Monday s forecast The president and first lady were scheduled to address the crowd from a White House balcony before they join the festivities Children will line up to guide colorfully dyed hard-boiled eggs across a patch of lawn to a finish line There s also an egg hunt and initiatives to promote next year s th anniversary of America s founding Kids and families can sign a mini-Declaration of Independence or dress up as Founding Fathers during the daylong event that will feature multiple activity stations live performances and story times The first lady White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Keith Kellogg the president s special envoy for Ukraine are among those scheduled to read to children The United States celebrates its th anniversary on July The American Egg Board which has participated in the Easter Egg Roll for nearly years and has been a lead sponsor for the past decade donated eggs that were hand-dyed by board staff and participants and delivered to the White House on Friday stated Emily Metz board president and CEO She declared the board understands the frustration felt by egg farmers and consumers over the egg shortage caused by the spread of avian flu and how expensive it s become to buy a dozen as a outcome Metz stated the dozen eggs given to the White House were small and medium sizes not typically sold by retailers so will not further strain the supply or contribute to even higher prices Nearly million dozen eggs are sold daily in the United States she explained We feel like we need to take a moment to celebrate where we can and you cannot have Easter without eggs and you cannot have the White House Easter Egg Roll without real eggs Metz declared in an interview The Easter Egg Roll is one of the oldest White House traditions It dates to and the presidency of Rutherford B Hayes who opened the lawn to children after Congress banned them from rolling eggs on the grounds of the U S Capitol Tickets for Monday s event were distributed through a lottery