Historic event in October includes meeting the White House chefs & a tour of the Kitchen Garden...Update, Oct. 4: All the Tweetup details are here
First Lady Michelle Obama will host the Fall Harvest of her globally famous Kitchen Garden on Wednesday, October 5th. As is standard for all plucking and planting events in the 1,500 square-foot plot, Mrs. Obama will be joined by young helpers--as well as by many, many journalists. But this time, other guests will have the opportunity to watch, too, live from the sidelines of the South Lawn: The White House invited all those who follow the @LetsMove Twitter account to apply for the first-ever Let's Move! Tweetup. (Above: Mrs. Obama and helpers in a lettuce bed during the 2011 Spring Harvest)
The lucky group selected for the Tweetup will actually tour through the Kitchen Garden, as well as watch Mrs. Obama in action, according to the White House. They'll meet some of the chefs, including Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass, who oversees the garden. Participants will also "engage in a conversation on the First Lady’s initiative to end childhood obesity." It's Mrs. Obama's own first Twitter event, in addition to being the first Tweetup for her campaign. (Above: The First Lady and Kass at the the 2011 Spring planting)
White House Tweetups and @LetsMove...The Tweetup was announced Thursday on @LetsMove. White House Tweetups began last July when President Obama hosted his first Twitter Town Hall. Unlike her husband, Mrs. Obama does not have a personal Twitter account. And while there are numerous West Wing Twitter accounts, including personal ones for staff, there are just two accounts associated with the East Wing. Both are dedicated to the First Lady's campaigns. (Above: Six of the White House chefs at the 2011 Planting, including Kass, in black, and Executive Chef Cris Comerford, kneeling in front with a helper)
The Let's Move account launched last February, to mark the one-year anniversary of the official start of the initiative. It currently has 13,149 followers. The other account is @JoiningForces, for Mrs. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden's campaign to support military families. It launched in April and has 4,122 followers. Staffers do the tweeting for both accounts, according to an East Wing aide. All tweets to and from the White House are subject to the Presidential Records Act.
Check WhiteHouse.gov/Tweetup and follow @WhiteHouse for information on upcoming Tweetups at the White House. More on Let's Move at Letsmove.gov...and here on this blog.
*Photos by Eddie Gehman Kohan/Obama Foodorama