Ed. note: This post is about 2014's Big Block of Cheese Day. Click here for information about 2015's Big Block of Cheese Day.
This event has concluded. See all the responses from administration officials who participated in Big Block of Cheese Day.
President Obama has always been dedicated to the idea that the White House is truly "The People's House" and has worked to make 1600 Pennsylvania and his administration open and accessible.
This isn't a new idea, the same can be said of President Andrew Jackson. On February 22, 1837, President Jackson hosted an open house featuring a 1,400-pound block of cheese that sat in the main foyer of the White House. This original "Big Block of Cheese Day" opened the doors of the White House to thousands of citizens to interact with cabinet members and White House staff – and carve off a slice of the four foot by two foot thick slab of cheddar.
On Wednesday, January 29th, with a nod to history (and maybe the TV show the West Wing), the Obama Administration is hosting the first-ever virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day," during which dozens of White House officials will take to social media for a day long 'open house' to answers questions from everyday Americans in real-time on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and via Google+ Hangout.
So be sure to visit WH.gov/SOTU to watch the State of the Union Address live on January 28, 2014 at 9 p.m. ET and stay tuned for a complete schedule of engagement events for virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day."
Virtual Big Block of Cheese Day: Schedule of events
Join us on Twitter
From the road with President Obama:
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. ET: General Overview & #SOTU themes
10:00 – 10:30 a.m. ET: Economic Opportunity & Mobility
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. ET: Immigration & Latino Issues
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. ET: Climate & Energy
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. ET: STEM
2:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET: Minimum Wage, Unemployment Insurance, Skills gap & Apprenticeships
2:30 – 3:00 p.m. ET: State & Local issues
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET: Foreign Policy
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. ET: Health Care
4:30 – 5:00 p.m. ET: Rebuilding America's Infrastructure
Facebook Q&A:
3:30 p.m. ET: La Casa Blanca Facebook Page -- Immigration & Latino issues
4:00 p.m. ET: The White House Facebook Page -- Economic Opportunity & Mobility
Google+ Hangout:
1:30 p.m. ET: Education: "From Daycare to Diploma" with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Joined by three of the extraordinary Americans who are joining the First Lady in her viewing box for this year’s State of the Union Address
Have a question about a topic not covered here? Additional Administration officials will be participating throughout the day so keep an eye out:
First Lady Michelle Obama - @FLOTUS
Executive Director of Let's Move Sam Kass - @LetsMove
Director of Specialty Media Shin Inouye - @Inouye44
Cheif of Staff of the Council on Environmental Quality Mike Boots - @WhiteHouseCEQ
The White House Historical Association - @WhitehouseHstry
Communications Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy Rafael Lemaitre - @RafaelONDCP
Department of Agriculture - @USDA
Department of Commerce - @CommerceSec
Director of the Office of Personnel Management Katherine Archuleta - @OPMDirector
Office of Personnel Management - @USOPM
Office of the United States Trade Representative - @USTradeRep
Department of the Treasury - @USTreasury