Patrick Henry Elementary School principal Ingrid Bynum, right, takes a group photo of students and teachers on the South Lawn of the White House following a special Halloween visit Oct. 31. Photo by Jeanne Theismann.
Forget South Lee Street in Old Town. For 44 fifth-graders from Patrick Henry Elementary School, the White House was the place to be on Halloween.
“This is amazing,” said 10-year-old Ryan Awamleh, one of more than 130 students from Alexandria City Public Schools to begin their trick-or-treating on the South Lawn of the White House. “I had a lot of fun and got some really good candy.”
The ACPS students and their teachers, including other fifth graders from George Mason and Charles Barrett elementary schools, joined thousands of children from military families and D.C. area schools for a special Halloween event hosted at the White House Oct. 31.
"I saw Mrs. Obama's garden and it was beautiful,” said Kaila Molina. “The White House was the most awesome place I have ever seen. This was the best trip I ever went on."
Dressed for the occasion in costumes ranging from superheroes to fairy princesses, the ACPS students wandered through a Halloween wonderland that included more than 200 pumpkins and performances by acrobats, jugglers, dancers and costumed characters including Glinda the Good Witch from “The Wizard of Oz.”
“I like how the White House was decorated like a mini carnival,” said Ayla Orona. “I saw a lot of acrobats and dancers in costumes. I had a great time.”
Earlier in the day, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama passed out candy to trick-or-treaters. The presidential haul included White House Hershey Kisses, a White House butter cookie, black licorice, orange tangerine jelly beans, kettle corn, Bo and Sunny baseball cards and a Gala apple.
"I thought I would see Mr. and Mrs. Obama,” said Phoenix Rhodes. “I didn't but I still had fun and I got a jackpot of candy."
Tickets to the event were made available to ACPS after a previous planned Easter visit was cancelled at the last minute.
“This is so exciting,” said Ingrid Bynum, principal of Patrick Henry Elementary School and costumed caped crusader for the day. “Opportunities for kids like this are very few. They will remember today for a lifetime.”