Barack Obama 60th birthday bash: From barbeque to pies, lavish spread expected for star guests
Barack Obama turning 60 on August 4 is going to be a bigger deal than any other birthday has ever been for the former POTUS. Insiders have spilled to outlets just how big the occasion will be - albeit adhering to Covid-19 rules and norms. But that doesn't mean the 44th US president is going to keep his guest list short, or curb the extravaganzas. Taking place at the Martha's Vineyard mansion that wife Michelle bought just two years ago, Obama's birthday bash is expected to treat the cream of A-listers to a gastronomical affair if older parties are any hint.
News of the upcoming birthday party and all of its surrounding details were spilled by an insider to The Hill. According to the source, the guest list is going to include some of the biggest names from the entertainment industry, such as Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, and George Clooney. All three celebrities had attended Obama's 50th birthday party a decade ago and are expected to be in attendance again. "It's going to be big," the insider teased, hinting at something even more fabulous than the $40k-ticket Chicago party the Obamas threw in 2011, and which eventually turned into a fundraiser for his re-election campaign.
And if the $11.5 million mansion doesn't pique your curiosity, what the Obamas will be treating their guests with is sure to catch your attention.
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What's on the menu?
Back in 2011, when Obama turned 50, he had thrown two parties - one in his hometown Chicago, and another in the White House. The Chicago party charged up to $35,800 per couple for tickets, and had Jennifer Hudson, Jay Z, Stevie Wonder, Chris Rock among others in attendance, aiming to fundraise a whopping $60 million combined. But it was the White House party that brought out some major culinary bonanza, and which holds the clue to the menu for Obama's 60th.
All about good food, good music, and even better dance performances, the 2011 White House party began with a barbecue feast of chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta, and salad in the Rose Garden. Soon arrived an elaborate platter of not one, not two, but four kinds of pie, namely apple, peach, huckleberry, and cherry. The feast reportedly ended with the former first lady and former first daughters Malia and Sasha bringing the family patriarch a giant birthday cake. And if that wasn't filling enough, guests were then sent indoors for the night's live music performances and dance parties.
Where is the party?
The insider spilling all the hot gossip from the upcoming party shared that the Obamas will be hosting their guests at the luxe Massacchussets beachfront property that Michelle had bought from its previous owner, Wyc Grousbeck, in 2019. Among the many enviable features of the beachfront property are its seven glorious bedrooms, a swimming pool, outdoor fire pit, and vaulted ceilings with two wings.
The mansion also comes with its own private beach, a boathouse, and plenty of extra land. In 2020, local paper MV Times reported how the former first family were renovating the place with “the construction of an addition to an existing boathouse/gym, the enlargement of patios, the construction of a firepit, and related landscaping and site improvements.” Listing agent Tom Wallace also spoke highly of the mansion, calling it "a remarkable home on an absolutely gorgeous setting," with the article further adding: "It certainly has the capacity to expand to more of a compound. One could build two additional full-size properties if one wanted to create a generational meeting place."