The Obama Foundation is hosting a free watch party along the Midway Plaisance to celebrate the opening of the Obama Presidential Center on June 18.
The center’s official grand opening ceremony, scheduled for 11 a.m., is invite-only with “performances by global icons and engaging storytelling about the Foundation’s work to inspire, empower and connect people to make change in their own communities,” according to a release from the foundation.
If you’re interested in viewing the event, you are invited to join the watch party and hang out at the Midway, just west of the presidential center.
Request forms to receive up to four free watch party tickets are available at obama.org/grandopening. Those seeking free tickets to the Midway event must submit their ticket application by May 26, but the foundation has warned that space is limited, parking is not provided and an application does not guarantee a ticket. The center will stream the opening at obama.org, as well.
The watch party is described as a “picnic-style atmosphere,” and doors will open at 9 a.m. It will feature music, an art market, local food vendors, and exclusive merchandise.
Tickets to the museum — which are $30 for adults and $23 for kids from out of state and $26 and $15 for Illinois adults and kids — are already sold out for the center’s official opening weekend, which kicks off on Juneteenth.
Much of the rest of the summer is already sold out, according to the website, but tickets are sporadically available after Aug.10. Locals have apparently snapped up reservations for free admission on Illinois Free Days on Tuesdays. The spots are sold out through November.
The center is also offering a 90-minute campus experience tour of the center’s art, architecture and landscape design, plus a museum ticket and line-skipping pass for $75 to $95, depending on the day of the week. Those are also sold out through Sept. 20.
Tickets to the museum allow entry at reserved times, but the other areas of the campus — including the Chicago Public Library branch, playground, athletic center, surrounding park space and the Sky Room atop the museum — are free and open to the public.
Tuesday’s announcement is the latest in a series of rollouts in the long-awaited opening of the Obama center, including fresh commissions from artists, the final naming of spaces inside the museum and around the campus and sneak peeks at the full-scale replica of Obama’s Oval Office.
