When we begin operating a store at a new partnership, we are familiar with the physical space within which our shop resides. There is always visual merchandising work that happens before our first official day of business, but the store space is always locked in and defined. Our partnership with the Obama Presidential Center unfolded very differently.

When you look at the trajectory of Angela Dawson’s occupational journey, one might say she ‘climbed the ladder.’ An ironic analogy for someone who gained much of their early retail experience on the 103rd floor of Willis Tower. Angela started her Event Network career 20 years ago this month at Cincinnati Zoo and later became an Assistant Store Director at the iconic Skydeck in Chicago. She sat down to share with me how her constant curiosity and natural inclination to teach others took her on a journey that has, over time, paid off for her, and certainly paid off for Event Network’s team members.

Event Network is proud to announce a new collaboration with KultureCity, the world’s leading nonprofit dedicated to promoting accessibility and inclusion for individuals with sensory needs and invisible disabilities. Together, we’re working to bring thoughtfully designed products into our stores to help more guests feel comfortable, confident, and welcome in the places they love to explore, learn, and make memories.

When the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance opened its Down Under habitat in May 2024, the intention was to bring guests closer than ever before to species native to Australia. One of the ways the zoo accomplished this was with Wallaby Way, an immersive pathway that puts visitors inside the habitat with kangaroos and wallabies. With no barriers separating guests from animal residents, it became easier to observe these animals’ natural behavior and to respect the delicate balance between humans and wildlife.

In the Hulu series The Bear, world-renowned chef Carmen returns to his Chicago hometown. His sole purpose is to transform his family’s Italian beef sandwich shop into a high-end culinary experience worthy of a coveted Michelin star. The journey is riveting to watch, but it’s the transformation of the people in Carmen’s orbit that makes this series so addictive.

Conservators at the National Gallery of Art made an interesting discovery hidden behind Titian’s ‘Venus with a Mirror.’ The painting depicts the goddess of love and beauty sitting amid detailed fabric, and fur. A cupid holds a mirror up to her, and she gazes at the reflection. When the research department x-rayed the piece, they found beneath the paint an earlier composition featuring a man and a woman standing side by side. Titian had rotated the canvas and painted Venus on top of it.