The Obama Presidential Center is preparing a big show for its grand opening next month.
The Center on Wednesday released its schedule of activities for its opening weekend on June 19-21. Many of the events are free, family-friendly and available to the public.
The activities in the 19-acre campus at 6001 S. Stony Island Ave. — ranging from live music, to dancing and face painting — may be the closest many people can get to being inside the Center’s 225-foot museum tower for months to come. Tickets for opening weekend sold out in hours, and reservations for Illinois Free Days (on Tuesdays) sold out past October.
Entertainment at the Center, under construction since 2021, will also feature “sports and play stations” at its Home Court athletic center. Expect to see mascots from the Chicago Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox, among others.
The museum debuts June 18 with an invitation-only grand opening ceremony, then opens to the public the next day — Juneteenth, on Friday, June 19. The public events will carry through that Sunday, which is Father’s Day.
The idea behind the grand opening bash is to propel the center’s mission to inspire and empower visitors.
“These celebratory programs are only the beginning of the fun ways in which we will welcome visitors to campus. We will foster a spirit of civic engagement and joy,” Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation, said in a statement.
Other activities on opening weekend include:
- Performances and programs featuring Obama Presidential Center commissioned artists;
- Storytime and hands-on activities at the Center’s Chicago Public Library branch;
- Double Dutch performances and hands-on crochet jump rope-making in Home Court;
- Interactive experiences in the Fruit and Vegetable Garden centered on growing food and holistic well-being;
- Talks in the Center’s auditorium;
- Guided and self-guided audio tours of campus.
The Center is planning for additional events after opening weekend, and throughout the summer:
- In July and August, the Center will host a “You Are America” summer series of talks, films and community events for the nation’s 250th anniversary. That series will kick off with a free Independence Day celebration called “The People’s Fourth,” featuring live music, self-guided tours and family-friendly activities.
- Summer Garden Gatherings will be hosted in the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden every other week from July 12 to Sept. 20, in partnership with Urban Growers Collective.
- On Aug. 4, an all-ages celebration of President Obama’s birthday will be held with a karaoke DJ set.
- A 50-year-old-and-up walk-run club called At Your Pace will meet Thursday mornings from Aug. 6 to Oct. 8.
Information about all Obama Presidential Center programming will be available on the Foundation’s website and event calendar and will be updated as programs are added. Check it out at Obama.org.