"An opportunity for people to experience IKEA:" Pop-up event in Milwaukee ahead of May 16 grand opening

IKEA pop-up event in Milwaukee

OAK CREEK -- IKEA Oak Creek, Wisconsin's first IKEA store, is set to open on Wednesday, May 16 -- and on Sunday, May 6, customers got a unique sneak peek in Milwaukee.

"This is just an opportunity for people to experience IKEA and get excited before we open our doors," said Kendra Ferguson, IKEA media specialist.

Officials offered a virtual reality IKEA experience at Milwaukee's McKinley Park on Saturday and Sun

day. It was an opportunity for customers to see the latest IKEA products that will be on display when the store opens, and win a free getaway.

During the "pop-up event," customers were also able to take part in a virtual reality experience, taking them into a virtual IKEA showroom.

IKEA Oak Creek will be the Swedish company’s first store in Wisconsin -- and the 48th in the United States. Previously, customers had to travel to the Bolingbrook or Schaumburg stores in Illinois, or to the Bloomington store in Minnesota.

The 293,000 square-foot store will feature nearly 10,000 exclusive-designed items, three model home interiors, inspirational room settings, family-friendly play areas throughout the store and a supervised children’s play area.

The store will offer "Click and Collect"  -- allowing customers the pre-order online and have items ready when they arrive.

This location will also be home to IKEA’s popular restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries, traditional desserts and American dishes such as chicken fingers, pasta, soup and salad.

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The doors are set to open at 9 a.m. on Wednesday May 16.  Customers can begin lining up outside the store at 5 a.m. that morning. The first 1,000 customers in line will receive a goody bag. Officials say anticipate between 10,000 and 20,000 people in roughly 9,000 cars to descend on the furniture store in the first day alone.