WINDHAM – A Windham couple and and one of their loveable cartoon characters were special guests at the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

Con Fullam and his wife, Maura Clarke, who have called Collins Pond in North Windham home for 13 years, created the Wompkees characters 15 years ago and each year have participated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Last weekend, the Windham residents drove a little farther south to take part in the White House’s Easter activities, which drew 30,000 people as well as a number of other cartoon characters there to entertain the children.

Families from all 50 states came to take part in the Easter Egg Roll, which has been a part of White House Easter since 1857, when Rutherford B. Hayes was president.

“We were very excited to be there, and it was exciting clearly,” Fullam said. “We were a stone’s throw away from the White House, which is a very powerful symbol, and it was a fascinating moment.”

Fullam and Clarke acted as guides for Twig Wompkee, a green and white, fuzzy cartoon character with big ears. Twig is one of many Wompkee characters Fullam and Clarke created in the late 1990s. The Wompkees, who come from the land of Wompkee Wood, act as mediators in the fantasy land.

“The Wompkees are little magical creatures who are universal communicators in that they can speak all the languages of all the ducks and bunnies in the forest, so when the ducks and bunnies have some sort of quarrel and can’t resolve it because they don’t speak each other’s language, the Wompkees are called in to interpret,” Fullam said. “The overall message is the word is far mightier than the sword.”

Fullam and Clarke, who already have written several children’s books and two movies depicting the Wompkees, just signed a e-publishing deal making the books available across all digital platforms. They have also recently signed an international licensing agreement with Los Angeles-based Lawless Entertainment. Lawless has a longstanding relationship providing cartoon characters for the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. Other cartoon characters in attendance and entertaining the thousands of children in attendance were Scooby-Doo, Babar the Elephant and The Cat in the Hat.

Fullam and Clarke didn’t get a chance to meet the President Barack Obama or first lady Michelle Obama because the cartoon characters were removed from the lawn when the first family, including daughters Malia and Sasha, made an appearance to speak and mingle with the crowd. Fullam said the organizers didn’t want the characters to distract the kids in attendance. He said the first lady, who has made anti-obesity her theme, spoke about the importance of eating healthy and physical fitness. There were stations for jump-roping, yoga, basketball and other activities on the South Lawn to keep the kids active.

While Twig Wompkee isn’t as easily identifiable as Scooby-Doo or some other cartoon characters, Fullam said the kids took to the cute and friendly character immediately.

“It’s always fascinating to see the reactions of kids to Twig,” Fullam said. “There are many costume characters there, many of which are extremely recognizable. Regardless of the fact that a lot of these kids don’t necessarily recognize Twig, kids are very attracted to the costume and very attracted to the character.”

Twig Wompkee, with his co-creators Maura Clarke and Con Fullam, of Windham, on the South Lawn of the White House during Monday’s annual Easter Egg Roll.Courtesy photo

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