Former first lady Michelle Obama to speak in Edmonton Friday

Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama will make a stop in Edmonton Friday, and some tickets are still available.

Obama will be in Edmonton on Friday, March 23 for a speaking event at Rogers Place from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., which will follow a question-and-answer format with a moderator Cassie Campbell-Pascall.

Campbell-Pascall is a three-time Olympic medallist and six-time World Champion in women’s hockey, and an advocate for women and women in professional sports. She is also the first woman to become a colour commentator for Hockey Night in Canada, and a recipient of the Order of Canada and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

The conversation with Michelle Obama is hosted by the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.

“She’s got sold-out engagements now booked across Canada,” chamber president Janet Riopel said on Monday. “So we were really thrilled when we were successful in engaging her to come to Edmonton.”

Obama served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. During that time, she launched several initiatives including Let’s Move, which battled childhood obesity and Let Girls Learn, which helped adolescent girls around the world go to school.

READ MORE: Michelle Obama to speak about equality for girls, women at Toronto event

Riopel believes Obama will discuss many of those topics at her event in Edmonton, including childhood obesity, veterans’ affairs, post-secondary education and getting girls around the world access to education.

“She is a very passionate, dedicated person and she really resonates with people,” Riopel said.

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The March 23 event will be followed by a VIP experience.

“There’s an opportunity for a very small group of people to… meet her personally, take a photo with her and spend a little bit of time with her.”

After her event in Edmonton, Obama will head to Calgary for a speaking engagement hosted by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce at 7 p.m.

READ MORE: Michelle Obama to speak in Calgary in March

Michelle Robinson Obama, born in 1964, attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She started her career as an attorney at a Chicago law firm, where she met her future husband and married him in 1992.

Obama later worked in the Chicago mayor’s office, the University of Chicago, and the University of Chicago Medical Center. The Obamas have two daughters and currently live in Washington, DC.

Tickets are available on Ticketmaster and range from $99 to $271.

— With files from Global’s Emily Mertz and Karen Bartko