Michelle Obama delights crowd at informal talk in Edmonton

Michelle Obama didn't disappoint fans at an informal talk in Edmonton Friday.

The former first lady spoke candidly about her struggles during her time at the White House and made jokes about trying to figure out what she wants to be when she "grows up."

The talk, moderated by hockey star Cassie Campbell, focused on gender equality and the role men play in making that a reality.

"You can't just love your daughter at home and not take care of the women at work," Obama said to a crowd of thousands at Rogers Place.

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The message resonated with many people at the event, including 10-year-old Priya Chatha.

Edmontonians charmed by Michelle Obama

7 years ago

Duration 0:50

Audience members talk about what they took away from former first lady Michelle Obama's speech at Rogers Place Friday.

"She was talking about girl power," said Chatha after the event. "I'm going to tell my friends that they should believe in themselves."

Rufaro Magutsa called Obama's message "inspiring."

"She talked about how women should really empower each other and the importance of standing by each other in order to accomplish our goals and become a stronger force together," Magutsa said.

Although the event was largely attended by women, Garth Bishop took the opportunity to go with his 15-year-old daughter.

"For me, it was really important for her to be able to see that successful women do struggle," Bishop said.

"The thing that really hit me the most was the idea that women have a lot of different windows in terms of things that make them question themselves, and have self talk that's not always productive.

"That's something as a man that I can really take away into my own life and really be able to help my daughter realize she doesn't have to be perfect."

Brenda Love said she would have liked to hear more about how the Obamas maintained what seems to be a loving relationship through all of their ups and downs, but she was happy to hear Obama talk about the couple's future.

"She said Barack and herself are putting their energies into mentoring future generations because they're going to be the ones that will do things differently," Love said.

The event was scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m., but people were still waiting in lines out the door closer to 1 p.m.

A spokesperson for Rogers Place said because the talk was a lunch-hour event downtown, people arrived all at once, making it harder to get through ticket gates.

Tickets for the talk cost between $99 and $185.

Obama served as first lady from 2009 to 2017.

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