Free public events have been announced for the grand opening weekend of the Obama Presidential Center. According to an announcement on Wednesday from the Obama Foundation, the grounds will be full of live performances, family activities, food and speakers, making for a festival of sorts on the 19.3-acre campus in Chicago’s Jackson Park neighborhood.
“We are so excited to welcome our neighbors on the South Side, people across the city of Chicago, and visitors from around the globe to the Obama Presidential Center, starting with our free Grand Opening Weekend festival,” Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said in part in the announcement.
The campus will be open to the public from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily starting June 19. Weekend festivities will continue through June 21, with events including:
- Live music, DJs, music groups and dance performances on the campus Plaza.
- Storytime and other activities at the Center’s Chicago Public Library branch.
- Sports and sessions at the Home Court athletic center led by Chicago’s professional sports teams and their mascots, including the Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Fire FC, Chicago Sky, Chicago Stars FC and Chicago White Sox. Plus Double Dutch jump rope performances.
- Performances and programs featuring Obama Presidential Center-commissioned artists. Plus the campus’s outdoor public art collection.
- The Urban Growers Collective at its fruit and vegetable garden.
- Speakers and panel discussions on the arts, culture and democracy in the auditorium.
- Food and family activities in the on-site restaurant, the cafe and around the grounds.
The Obama Center’s main draw, the four-story museum, already is heavily sold out through mid-July. Timed-entry tickets, which went on sale May 6, are currently being sold through Nov. 30. (Advance reservations are still required for free days for Illinois residents on Tuesdays.)
Grand Opening Ceremony on June 18
The Obama Center’s official Grand Opening Ceremony will be 11 a.m. June 18, and is expected to include a who’s who of musicians, performers and speakers. A watch party with a livestream of the events will be hosted nearby at the Midway Plaisance, although that event has reached capacity and is sold out. But the ceremony can still be streamed online at www.obama.org.
Coming this summer
Additional public programming at the Obama Center will continue in the months ahead, including:
- The “You Are America” summer series of talks, films, and community events to honor the 250th anniversary of America in July and August, including for Independence Day.
- A celebration of Barack Obama’s birthday on Aug. 4, including a karaoke DJ set.
- Summer Garden Gatherings, titled “Symphony of the Soil,” hosted in the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden every other week from July 12 to Sept. 20, in partnership with Urban Growers Collective.
- An At Your Pace club led by Peace Runners 773 to encourage physical activity for adults age 50 and older, meeting Thursday mornings from Aug. 6 to Oct. 8.
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More information, including about the campus and museum and an event calendar, is available at www.obama.org.
Tickets to the Obama Presidential Center go on sale Wednesday
Update: This story has been changed to add information about the June 18 ceremony and watch party, now sold out.