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A large mural adorns the side of the JW Marriott downtown.
Sam Horton / WBAAThe WNBA All-Star Weekend is this weekend. It’s the first time Indianapolis has hosted the women’s professional basketball mid-season marque event.
On and off the court, one major message organizers want to emphasize is female empowerment.
Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines says the goal is to have an impact well beyond the weekend.
“I think that’s one of the biggest legacy pieces we can also leave, is how we empowered women through the course of this weekend,” Raines said.
Organizers hustled to get the event-packed weekend organized just 10-months after the announcement it would be in Indy.
Those dates overlap with another event, the Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration at the downtown Indianapolis Convention Center.
Alice Watson is President and CEO of Indiana Black Expo and a part of the WNBA All-Star Host Committee. Watson said having the expo already planned and structured helped with the quick turn-around in plans for the WNBA All-Star weekend.
“It’s like, ‘You don’t have to do that, we’re doing it,’” Watson said. “Let’s partner together and figure out what the synergies are and how we can really just kind of amp up the game of what’s happening here in Indianapolis.”
Here’s a few things to know about this week’s festivities:
Art Initiatives
Numerous arts projects are planned around the city to celebrate the All-Star Weekend.
On Wednesday evening, a new mural featuring Indiana Fever star Tamika Catchings will be unveiled on Massachusetts Avenue. South Bend artist Nate Baranowski was selected to create the mural out of nearly 100 applicants around the world.
Baranowski was also tapped to create a 3D chalk mural at the southeast corner of Illinois and Washington St.
Visitors will also be able to observe two new temporary murals on the east and west facades of the Indianapolis Artsgarden, created by Indianapolis artists Phyllicia Carr and Amiah Mims. The murals will feature themes of women in basketball.
In collaboration, the Black Expo Summer Celebration will lean into the excitement around women and sports with an art exhibit exploring “Fashion Meets Basketball.”
The fan-favorite Sidewalk Galleries program is also returning with a special Victory Series, featuring some of Indy’s top female artists.
The murals will be located at the Emmis Building, Star Bank, and AES windows on Monument Circle, with additional artwork visible throughout downtown.
As part of SPARK, there will be a pop-up art market on Monument Circle featuring female artists and vendors, including a postcard-making station with designs by Indy artist Tasha Beckwith. SPARK also features family-friendly art activities, face painting, live music, lawn games. The arts partnership is an ongoing initiative between Big Car Collaborative, Downtown Indy Inc., and the city.
Additional pop-up art events, live music and dancing, and history walking tours will be featured downtown throughout the weekend.
Indy Hoops Pass
Visit Indy is also launching the Indy Hoops Pass this weekend, a free interactive challenge encouraging those attending this weekend’s events to check in at basketball-themed locations to be able to win prizes.
Participants can use on-site QR codes to check in at over 25 locations, including Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Chuck Taylor exhibit at the Indiana Historical Society, and basketball-themed murals throughout the city.
Prizes are given based on the number of check-ins and include WNBA All-Star 2025 merchandise and basketballs signed by Indiana Fever All-Stars Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell.
All-Star Cure
This past weekend, hundreds of women donated healthy breast tissue at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Komen Tissue Bank.
The samples are used to help further understanding of breast cancer. The Komem Tissue Bank is the only organization of its kind in the world that collects healthy breast tissue for medical research, according to IU.
Organizers said that they nearly reached their goal of 500 donations. Donations are small, equivalent to the size of three small green peas, but Komen Tissue Bank Director Dr. Michelle Coté said each donation has a major impact on research capabilities.
“It changes everything in breast cancer prevention work, in early detection work, and ultimately, understanding the composition of the normal, healthy breast will also help us with new types of treatments,” Coté said.
Period Pack
Thursday volunteers will pack thousands of menstrual products at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The community service event is led by two local nonprofits — Project Period Indy and Indy Hygiene Hub.
The goal is to assemble 25,000 period packs which will help supply about a year’s worth of menstrual products for both organizations.
The initiative is happening in coordination with the WNBA’s Changemakers initiative that works to use the sports platform to help empower underrepresented groups.
About 800 volunteers are expected to participate.
Free Bus Fares
Trips on the Indy-Go bus routes will be fare-free this weekend on Friday and Saturday. Anyone attending the All-Star Weekend festivities can hop on any route heading downtown. The rides provide convenient transportation to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indiana Convention Center, Everwise Amphitheater, and Monument Circle.
The All-Star Weekend Competitions
The All-Star Weekend will take place Friday and Saturday, July 18 -19, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The WNBA All-Star Game will take place Saturday. Tip-off is at 8:30pm.
Several Indiana Fever players are participating in the game. Caitlin Clark is one of the team captains and Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell have also been selected to play on Clark’s team.
On Friday, the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Challenge will take place. Clark was announced to be competing in the 3-Point Challenge taking on defending champion Allisha Gray.
A recent injury concern on Tuesday night during a game against the Connecticut Sun has Clark needing further evaluation. It’s unclear if her status to compete in the weekend festivities will change.
Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org or on Signal at SamHorton.05.
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