(AURN News) — A dedication ceremony Thursday marks the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, a project nearly a decade in the making, according to NPR.
Musicians including Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera and John Legend are slated to perform or appear. All living former presidents are expected to attend except President Donald Trump, who was left off the guest list.
Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett described the event as a thank-you to Obama’s supporters while noting that Trump could still visit the center at another time.
Spread across 19 acres on Chicago’s South Side, the campus includes a museum, a public library branch, a full-size basketball court, a garden honoring local women leaders, an auditorium, a media room and a playground.
The center is not a presidential library, so President Barack Obama’s official papers remain with the National Archives. While the dedication ceremony takes place Thursday, the center opens to the public Friday, Juneteenth.
Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.
