WNBA All-Star, Indiana Black Expo organizers view big weekend as chance to team up

Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration and the WNBA All-Star Game will share a weekend this month, and organizers of both are trying to make sure one doesn’t overshadow the other.

The WNBA All-Star Game represents a bright, shiny star on the calendar. The women’s professional basketball league has never been more popular, and Indianapolis will host the All-Star Game—which debuted in New York City in 1999—for the first time.

Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration, on the other hand, has been attracting tens of thousands of people to downtown for more than five decades. Despite that history, the organization’s leadership noticed “some angst” expressed by community members after All-Star events were announced for July 18-19. Those dates are the Friday and Saturday of Summer Celebration’s entertainment-focused closing weekend.

But Alice Watson, president and CEO of Indiana Black Expo Inc., wasn’t caught off guard.

Last summer, Indianapolis became the top candidate to host the all-star game when an undisclosed city yielded its opportunity because of an 11th-hour scheduling conflict. Before saying “yes” to the WNBA, Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines shared the scenario of overlapping dates with Watson.

The Indiana Black Expo leader decided to embrace the situation, and this year’s Summer Celebration is being marketed as the “All-Star Edition.”

Watson said the WNBA brings national exposure that can carry over to Summer Celebration. The plan, according to Watson and Raines, who serves as chair of the WNBA All-Star 2025 Host Committee, is to complement, not compete.

“You could say we’re showcasing what we do to the world,” Watson said. “We’ve been doing this for 55 years. A lot of folks know who we are, but they don’t know everything that we do during Summer Celebration.”

Similar things are planned for both Summer Celebration and WNBA All-Star, including concerts, showcases for fashion and visual arts, health awareness initiatives and support for small businesses.

On July 18, Summer Celebration’s Music Heritage Festival will feature performances by Keith Sweat, SWV, Cameo, Deniece Willams and Christopher Williams at the Indiana University Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium.

On July 19, Pacers Sports & Entertainment will present Fever Fest at Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park. The concert will feature music from The Kid Laroi, G-Eazy, Bia and 803Fresh and comedy from Cedric the Entertainer, Leslie Jones and Aida Rodriguez plus Deon Cole in the role of host.

The Indiana Convention Center will be home to Summer Celebration’s exhibition hall as well as the WNBA Live fan festival.

Raines said All-Star Host Committee members and Indiana Black Expo representatives frequently participate in conference calls to cultivate a collaborative approach.

“When we looked at the calendar, we knew that Summer Celebration always has a big show on Friday night,” Raines said. “Fever Fest was targeted for Saturday, so the shows complement each other and don’t overlap. In every area where we knew we would be doing something and they would be doing something, we tried to do it in a complementary way.”

Watson said options will define the big weekend.

“We do what we do every year,” she said. “This will be an extra added component for families and players coming into town. If you don’t want to be outdoors at Fever Fest, come inside to our exhibition hall. Everything there is a free activation, so it gives a range for whatever the income levels are.”

Statistics from last year’s WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix point to ways this year’s game could amplify awareness of Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration.

According to New Zealand-based data platform PredictHQ, 2024’s game generated more than $1 million in direct economic impact for Phoenix. Attendees spent $218,000 at hotels, $652,000 at restaurants and $204,000 on local transportation.

The matchup between the U.S. Women’s National Team and a squad of WNBA all-stars proved to be the most-watched WNBA All-Star game in history, drawing 3.44 million viewers. The previous record was 1.44 million viewers in 2003.

Building on tradition

Pacers Sports & Entertainment, parent company of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, has a long-running relationship with Indiana Black Expo.

That relationship factored into Raines’ consultation with Watson when the prospect of the WNBA All-Star Game emerged.

“The first call I made was to Alice,” Raines said. “We wanted to be sure that was something that Alice and the organization thought would be complementary to what they were doing and that we could coexist downtown together. She quickly got back to me and said, ‘I think this is a great opportunity.’ We’ve been off to the races since then.”

Raines, who joined the Pacers Sports & Entertainment staff in 2015, was promoted to the role of CEO in July 2024, following the retirement of Rick Fuson.

Fuson was hired in 1984 as director of special events at the Pacers’ former arena, Market Square Arena. He worked with Indiana Black Expo on Summer Celebration concerts at Market Square Arena in the 1990s. Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which opened in 1999 as Conseco Fieldhouse and is managed by Pacers Sports & Entertainment, has been the site of 23 Summer Celebration concerts.

Pacers Sports & Entertainment became the naming-rights sponsor of Summer Celebration’s corporate luncheon in 2009.

“We believe in what they’re doing for our community,” Raines said. “That’s an important event on the summer calendar here. … I can’t imagine where we wouldn’t want to be a part of the Summer Celebration. It’s a fantastic part of Indianapolis and cultural history.”

Indiana Black Expo debuted in 1971 as a two-day event at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. (The Summer Celebration event name was introduced in the 1980s.)

Billed as a showcase for “achievements of African Americans in the areas of culture, art, history and economics,” the first expo featured Donny Hathaway and the Dells in concert.

This year’s Summer Celebration is scheduled for 11 days, beginning July 10 and wrapping up July 20. Indiana Black Expo, which has 12 chapter affiliates in the state, also organizes the annual Circle City Classic football game in the fall that features two historically Black colleges or universities.

According to Indiana Black Expo’s annual report, 158,000 people attended the 2023 edition of Summer Celebration.

This year’s edition of the Pacers Sports & Entertainment Corporate Luncheon will honor actors Alfre Woodard and Wendell Pierce, singer Deniece Williams and Chiney Ogwumike, a former WNBA player and current ESPN analyst.

Watson credited the host committee’s assistance in connecting with Ogwumike, who will receive the Indiana Black Expo excellence in media award July 18 at the convention center.

“Of course, it ties into what’s happening during the weekend,” Watson said. “She’s a young, up-and-coming sports analyst with a great resume. She’s a former All-Star and the former vice president of [the WNBA’s] players association. We thought she would be great.”

On the menu

Barbecue restaurant Gip Got Tips is one of Summer Celebration’s official food vendors. Co-founders Dwayne Gibson and Stephanie Gibson said Gip Got Tips will serve customers July 18-20 inside the convention center and also on site at the July 18 concert at Carroll Stadium.

At the convention center, Gip Got Tips will be stationed in a common area accessible to the public—whether someone is attending Summer Celebration’s exhibit hall or the WNBA Live fan festival.

The Gibsons, a husband-and-wife team, operate Gip Got Tips as a carryout restaurant and catering company at 2073 N. Emerson Ave. They refer to their storefront in the Community Heights neighborhood by its ZIP code: 46218.

“I find it exciting to go downtown and do activations,” Stephanie Gibson said. “We’ve had people come from out of state and say, ‘Oh my God, we get to try you guys.’ A lot of time visitors are downtown and don’t get a chance to venture out right to 46218.”

Gip Got Tips opened in 2021. Dwayne Gibson participated in Gainbridge Fieldhouse’s “guest chef” initiative, in which Indianapolis chefs showcase signature dishes on the arena’s main concourse, during the Pacers’ 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons.

When Indianapolis hosted the NBA All-Star Game in February 2024, Gip Got Tips sold its pork tips, chicken tips and “smokie fried wings” at a pop-up stand in Circle Centre Mall.

Dwayne Gibson said he enjoys serving barbecue items to new customers.

“When somebody sees my food, that’s the first thing,” he said. “But once somebody tastes it, I feel like I’m going to win. I know people eat with their eyes. That’s part of the job I learned in culinary school. The second job is to make sure the food will bring them back.”

Gibson said he agrees with the theory that the WNBA All-Star Game will amplify awareness of Summer Celebration.

“It’s a great weekend to have a lot of interaction,” he said. “Black Expo has been a tradition, but it needs a little boost. I think the WNBA will do that for the IBE.”

Summer Celebration’s economic impact has declined across the years. In 2002, a study compiled by New Jersey-based research firm Allen and Partners cited $35 million in local spending generated by the event.

This year’s Summer Celebration is expected to generate $11.2 million in economic impact, according to Visit Indy.

Fashion statements

Fashion designer Nikki Blaine will be a co-host of Summer Celebration’s Style Zone, scheduled for July 18-20 at the convention center.

A runway show on July 19 is expected to feature a handful of WNBA players dressed in custom looks, Blaine said. Designer clothes are closely associated with athletes in the NBA and WNBA, thanks to attention paid to what players wear when arriving at arenas—also known as “tunnel fits.”

Blaine, owner of Zionsville boutique Nikki Blaine Couture, routinely showcases her gowns as part of runway events in New York, London and Paris.

What’s presently fashionable is influenced by this spring’s Met Gala, where “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” served as the theme. Blaine said sharp details and vibrant tones are in demand.

“It’s really about suiting and being properly dressed,” Blaine said. “Plus, bold colors and the mixing of bold colors. I’m so glad fashion is getting back to that.”

Blaine said she considers the WNBA All-Star Game a “second wind” for Summer Celebration.

“It was great, and then the violence going on in the streets made it not so great,” said Blaine, a 1993 graduate of Lawrence Central High School. “I believe we’re back on the upward swing.”

Blaine’s mention of violence refers to a downtown incident in 2010, when 10 people ages 10 to 19 were injured in shootings during Summer Celebration’s final weekend.

Fifteen years later, optimism reigns as Summer Celebration approaches.

“Having WNBA All-Star at the same time as IBE, we’re positioned to win,” Blaine said. “I expect it to be a successful weekend for everybody. Indianapolis can have two dynamic events happening simultaneously.”

Watson, Indiana Black Expo’s CEO, said WNBA festivities and Summer Celebration will combine to present an abundance of choices.

“It’s not a competitive thing,” Watson said. “You’ll have thousands of people who can pick and choose exactly what they want to do.”•