INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — WNBA All-Star Game events will begin in earnest Friday in Indianapolis, bringing fans and players together for two days of basketball and community engagement.
The highlighted event is WNBA Live, a fan festival at the Indiana Convention Center that will combine basketball with elements of fashion and music, and support for Black and women-led businesses.
WNBA Live will run from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the downtown venue just a few blocks from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the site of Saturday night’s game.
The celebration is touted as underscoring the cultural impact of the WNBA beyond the court.
Phil Cook, chief marketing officer of the WNBA, on Thursday emphasized the integration of culture with basketball. “I think when you talk about the game of basketball, and then you start to weave in culture like music and fashion, I think it personifies and illustrates the breadth and depth of our athletes and who they are as people on and off the court.”
The weekend’s activities include opportunities for fan interaction with WNBA All-Star players, some of whom are engaging with fans in Indianapolis for the first time.
Cook said, “You’re going to have athlete interaction. We have new athletes on our (All-Star) team this year. WNBA stars are having their first chance to interact with fans in Indy, and you’ll see experiences we’ve never had before.”
Assembling ‘period packs’
In addition to the festivities, a significant community service project happened Thursday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where 800 volunteers assembled 25,000 “period packs” to address period poverty across Indiana. The initiative was a collaboration between the WNBA All-Star Host Committee, Project Period Indy, and Indy Hygiene Hub.
Bailey Johnson, community engagement manager at Pacers Sports & Entertainment, explained the motivation behind the project: “We wanted to give back to Indianapolis and young athletes that are playing sports, but maybe have to stop playing because they don’t have the right equipment or the period products they need to continue in those sports.”
Angie Katinas, co-founder and director of Project Period Indy, highlighted the importance of the distribution effort. “We will be getting these period packs that are packaged here today into the hands of athletic directors so that they can work with the coaches of their student athletes to make sure that young ladies playing sports in the Indy area have what they need to confidently and with dignity show up to practice and school every day.”
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