New Obama Presidential Center to Host Upcoming WNBA Events
An All-Star practice at the Center marks the first time a professional sports league practice will be held at a venue of this kind.
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) will become the first professional sports organization to hold several marquee events at the newly opened Obama Presidential Center during AT&T WNBA All-Star 2026, the WNBA announced last week
As part of the All-Star festivities, the Obama Presidential Center will serve as a featured venue for various AT&T WNBA All-Star activities, bringing together players, fans and community members starting on July 24, according to a press release. The events will include the All-Star Media Day and practice; 2026 WNBA Changemaker Day with collaborators including the Chicago Sky, Chicago Public Schools, and the Girls Opportunity Alliance, an initiative of the Obama Foundation; and Jr. WNBA Day, an event designed to inspire girls through basketball, leadership, and learning with a basketball fundamentals clinic, panel discussions, a vision‑board workshop, STEM activities, and more.
“Hosting AT&T WNBA All-Star events at the Obama Presidential Center is a true honor and reflects our commitment to creating connection through basketball and engaging communities in meaningful ways,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a press release.
Most of the events will take place in the Center’s 60,000-square-foot athletic building, Home Court, which features a WNBA-regulation basketball court and multi-purpose spaces for programming.
“We are thrilled to welcome the WNBA as our first professional sports league hosted at the Obama Presidential Center,” said Valerie Jarrett, CEO at The Obama Foundation in a press release. “At the Center, we believe sports have the power to bring people together and create meaningful opportunities to build the next generation of leaders.”
The 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will take place on Saturday, July 25 at United Center in Chicago. The State Farm WNBA 3-Point Contest and Kia WNBA Shooting Stars will take place on Friday, July 24 at Wintrust Arena, home of the Chicago Sky.
The Obama Presidential Center, located on 19 acres in Chicago’s South Side Jackson Park, opened to the public on June 19th with appearances by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama at the museum building where they greeted the first 100 visitors and at the Chicago Public Library branch on the campus where they hosted children for a story-reading event.
Calendar
July 22, 2026
Private Tour of the Val-Kill Furniture Exhibit at the Met Museum
The Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill announces that the Metropolitan Museum of Art is opening an exhibit on Val-Kill Industries furniture from July 18, 2026–May 9, 2027, and the Center will take a few of its supporters on a private tour of the exhibit on July 22, 2026, at 10 a.m. local time. This tour will be led by the exhibit curator, Alyce Perry Englund, and Eleanor Roosevelt’s great-granddaughter, Anna Eleanor Fierst. There will also be lunch included after the tour at the American Wing Cafe inside the museum. Tickets are a $100 donation. Read more
July 25, 2026
Suffragist Tea Party
The Clinton Presidential Library presents an in-person Suffragist Tea Party on Saturday, July 25, at 2 p.m. CT in commemoration of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
This event will feature tea party snacks and beverages to recognize Arkansas’ unique and progressive place in the history of women’s fight for equality. Beginning in 1917, Arkansas allowed women to vote in primary elections. At the time, it was the only non-suffrage state to grant this right. On July 28, 1919, Arkansas became the 12th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, and the first Southern state to do so. This festive celebration is hosted as part of the Clinton Presidential Center’s America250 commemorations, honoring the nation’s history and recognizing important lessons to improve its future. Period attire is not required but encouraged. Read more
Aug. 4, 2026
White House History Live: An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln
The White House Historical Association presents at 5:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 4, 2026, White House History Live: An Inconvenient Widow: The Torment, Trial, and Triumph of Mary Todd Lincoln, its YouTube and Facebook Live series.
Former Washington Post writer and columnist Lois Romano joins to discuss her new biography of Mary Todd Lincoln, one of the most misunderstood and vilified first ladies in American history. Romano’s research draws on hundreds of archives, letters, and memoirs to provide the most complete portrait—of not simply of an inconvenient widow, but of a brilliant and flawed woman, who possessed uncommon tenacity in the face of extraordinary adversity and personal torment, and helped launch one of America’s greatest presidents.
This virtual event will be live streamed on the White House Historical Association’s Facebook and YouTube pages starting at 5:30 pm ET on August 4. Read more
Aug. 7, 2026
Legacy Lecture: Mary Lincoln’s Photograph Album
The National First Ladies Library & Museum presents the virtual “Legacy Lecture: Mary Lincoln’s Photograph Album” with scholar Laura Keyes exploring a remarkable piece of personal history and what it reveals about Mary Lincoln and the Lincoln family.
Through the images she preserved, the album tells not only Mrs. Lincoln’s story but also the story of the Lincoln family during one of the most pivotal eras in American history. Read more
Aug. 12, 2026
Talk with a Curator
Go behind the scenes on Aug. 12, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET in a virtual program presented by the National First Ladies Library & Museum for a rare opportunity to learn how history is researched, cared for, and share—straight from the curators who make it happen. Read more
Sept. 8-10, 2026
Presidential Sites Summit
The White House Historical Association will host the Presidential Sites Summit at the historic Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. on September 8-10, 2026.
This convening will bring together leaders and staff from presidential sites nationwide, including birthplaces, childhood homes, libraries, museums and alma maters—to reflect on the America 250 semi-quincentennial celebrations and accomplishments and look to the future. The program emphasizes lessons learned, future collaborations, and strategies for sustaining relevance in a dynamic cultural landscape. Read more
Send calendar items, press releases and announcements to jtaylor@eastwingmagazine.com.