Signature Meetup Event: The 2016 White House Spring Garden Tour (FREE)
Details
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Please read the full event description carefully. This is the type of activity where some people don't carefully read the full event description, and then get mad when things don't go as they had expected. Also, the White House makes the rules for this event - not me. Reminder, you're entering one of the most secure areas in Washington, DC, if not the world, plan and act accordingly. Finally, this is a popular, well-attended event. Don't like crowds? Then probably best to stay home. OK, sorry for being blunt, just needed to be explicitly clear what this event entails.
What were you doing the 3rd Saturday in April last year?
What were you doing the 3rd Saturday in April ten years ago?
Life is about vivid memories and if you join us this Saturday you will always remember the fun you had on the third Saturday in April of 2016 - visiting the White House gardens with your Meetup friends - a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many.
The White House announced the date for their annual spring garden tour: Saturday, April 16 & Sunday, April 17. Michele and I will be attending on Saturday and you are welcome to join us. We will also post Sunday as an "un-hosted/no host event," although perhaps some of you can "Meetup" somewhere and visit the White House Gardens together as a group?
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Schedule
7:45 = Meet at Peet's Cofee & Tea (601 13th St NW)
7:45 - 8:00 = Group Icebreaker Introductions
8:00 - 8:15 = Walk to Ellipse Visitor Pavilion (15th and E Streets NW)
8:15 - 9:00 = Wait in Line for Tickets & Chat with Meetup Friends
9:00 = Ticket Distribution
TBD = Enter White House Grounds
TBD = Tentative Lunch with Barack & Michelle - working out the details :)
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Our Plan
For this public event all are welcome - including children and non Meetup members. Of course I/we will be happy to take your picture so you can show friends and family you were at the White House!
To get downtown there are plenty of Metro stations close by. You can also drive in with your car and park but you will probably need to park in a paid lot or garage as most metered spots in DC only have a two hour limit on Saturdays and we will probably not be done in 2 hours.
Michele and I will start out at Peet's Coffee, if you want to join our group please meet us there at 7:45 am sharp (not at the Ellipse which will be more crowded and harder to find people - needle in a haystack syndrome). Yes it's early - but how many chances do you get to visit the White House grounds? Can you sleep-in late Saturday morning and then just take cuts in line to join the Meetup group? NO! LOL
Outside of Peet's we'll have our traditional group icebreaker introductions and then proceed proceed to the Ellipse Visitor Center Pavilion. Ticket distributed begins at 9:00 but we plan on arriving there at 8:15 to get early spots in line. We will then be given a timed ticket. Of course at this point I have no way of knowing what time our ticket will be for. If we are able to access the grounds early (9:00 - 10:00) then we'll just find something to do close by. If our tickets are for later in the day (after 10:00) then we'll go find something else to do and come back. The members of our group can probably get timed tickets together and walk the grounds as a group but no promises.
For this event I'm not sure exactly how long we'll be staying, you are free to stay as long as you like or leave as early as you like. Optional lunch afterwards.
At Peet's and afterwards you'll be able to find members of our group by looking for people wearing Meetup stickers from our "Washington, DC History & Culture" Meetup group - pictured below - which Michele and I will hand out to everyone. We will also provide printed maps of the White House grounds to the first 100 arrivals.
These stickers, maps, and other items required to organize our Meetup events are paid for through the generous donations we receive from our members. To make a voluntary donation to our programs please see the link below:
https://secure.meetup.com/DCHistoryAndCulture/contribute/
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White House Spring Garden Tour: April 16th and 17th
Visitors can tour the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, Rose Garden, White House Kitchen Garden and South Lawn of the White House. Guests are invited to stroll around the White House grounds and share photos on social media using the hashtag #WHGarden (https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/whgarden/). Spring Garden Tour Times and Tickets
Saturday April 16: 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Sunday April 17: 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM
Free timed tickets will be distributed at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion located (https://www.nps.gov/whho/planyourvisit/maps.htm) just west of the corner of 15th and E Streets, NW beginning at 9:00 AM on each tour day. Tickets are first-come first-served. Only one ticket per person, so everyone in your group needs to be present in line to receive a ticket.
https://whitehouse.gov1.info/visit/tour.html
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Video from last year's event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NgN4JTT5qQ
White House Announces 2016 Spring Garden Tours
This Spring, the White House will be opening its gardens and grounds to visitors on Saturday, April 16 from 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM EDT, and Sunday, April 17 from 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM EDT. During this event, visitors can see the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, Rose Garden, and South Lawn of the White House.
Additionally, guests will be able to visit the White House Kitchen Garden – originally established by First Lady Michelle Obama in 2009 and the first vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden. Mrs. Obama planted the garden to initiate a national conversation around the health and wellbeing of our nation—a conversation that evolved into her Let’s Move! (http://www.letsmove.gov/)initiative. You can follow the White House Kitchen Garden on Instagram at @WHKitchenGarden (https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/06/instagram.com/whkitchengarden).
This event is free and open to the public; however, a ticket is required for all attendees (including small children). The National Park Service will distribute free, timed tickets at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion located near 15th and E Streets Northwest on each tour day beginning at 9:00 AM. Tickets will be distributed -- one ticket per person -- on a first-come, first-served basis.
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Please note the following items are not allowed on the White House grounds:
Tablets, iPads , Tripods, Monopods, or Selfie Sticks
Video Recorders
All Bags, including Purses, Backpacks, or Suitcases
Animals other than Service/ Guide Dogs
Bicycles, Folding Chairs, Umbrellas with metal tips, Balloons, Coolers, Glass, Thermal or Metal Containers
Signs or Flags of Any Kind
Any Pointed Object(s), Including Pocket Knives
Diaper Bags
Food, Liquids, Aerosols, Tobacco Products, Lighters
Firearms, Ammunition, Fireworks, Laser Pointers, Stun Guns/Tasers, Mace/Pepper Spray, Toy Weapons or Knives of Any Kind
Any Other Items Determined to be Potential Safety Hazards
The U.S. Secret Service reserves the right to prohibit any other personal items. However, strollers, wheelchairs, umbrellas (no metal tips), and cameras are permitted. All items needed for medical purposes will be permitted on the tour (e.g. wheelchairs, electric scooters, glucose tablets, EpiPens, etc.). Please identify and explain all items needed for medical purposes to U.S. Secret Service upon arrival.
In the event of inclement weather, the event may be cancelled. Please call the 24-hour information line at (202) 456-7041 to check on the status of the event.
Any questions that can't be answered by the above event description, common sense, or Google, please let me know.
Thanks!
Robert Kelleman
202-821-6325
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Signature Meetup Event: The 2016 White House Spring Garden Tour (FREE)