Chicago Life Festival Advance

Grammy Award-Winners to Highlight AARP Life Festival in Chicago

Source: AARP.org

Erica and Tina Campbell, sisters who perform under the name Mary Mary, will provide the musical flourish to a two-day Chicago festival that is part career fair, part health clinic, and part interactive marketplace — with a healthy dose of celebrity speakers and presenters. In addition to Mary Mary, winners of two Grammy Awards for their innovative, rhythm-and-blues-based sound — which also incorporates soul and hip-hop into a style sometimes called "urban gospel" — the second AARP Life Festival, set for Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6, at Navy Pier in the Windy City, features a diverse group of speakers and celebrities. These include sportscaster James Brown, perhaps better known as “J.B.,” who is also AARP’s Community Ambassador; author, educator, and entrepreneur Stedman Graham; Mellody Hobson, the president of Ariel Investments and financial contributor to ABC’s "Good Morning America"; radio personality Tom Joyner; Dr. Reed Tuckson, UnitedHealth Group's executive vice president and chief of medical affairs; and Patricia Russell-McCloud, an inspirational and motivational speaker.

The festival's free workshops focus on health care and financial well-being, with generous doses of Q-and-A sessions accompanying the health screenings and career fair. Even Mary Mary will host a special, complimentary Q-and-A before their concert on Friday evening; concert tickets will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, and must be purchased at the event site. The concert is co-sponsored by Walgreens, with whom AARP is also sponsoring a yearlong "Wellness Tour" that offers free health screenings such as those at the festival.

The daytime offerings at the Life Festival include not only the celebrity speakers, but also an interactive “marketplace” on the exhibit floor that features a range of activities sponsored by nearly 100 national and local businesses and community organizations. Among the activities is “Painting Across Generations,” in which children 12 and younger are invited to paint a portrait of a grandparent for display in the “marketplace.” UnitedHealth Group has signed on as the premier sponsor for the AARP Life Festival, which is free to all AARP members. Nonmembers age 40 and older pay only $10 and receive a one-year AARP membership, a $16 value. Parking will also be discounted to $16 each day for Life Festival attendees. Discount "chaser" tickets will be available at registration. Additional information on the AARP Life Festivals, preregistration, and transportation to the event is available online here.