MLK FESTIVAL WEEK

MLK FESTIVAL WEEK

THE REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WEEKEND 2018

Alexandria Honors and Celebrates the Most Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Legacy of Civil Rights, Its Leaders, and Its Future: New Partnering and Activity in Celebration of MLK Jr. Day Weekend

Press Release – Alexandria, Louisiana –  The City of Alexandria is delighted to support its diversity and community programming, especially honoring the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights pioneers from our own area. The outline here demonstrates a commitment to yearly ratcheting up of these activities from resource commitment to innovative programming, the preceding weekend through Monday, January 15, 2018.

8 a.m. Saturday: MLK Onward 5K and One-Mile Youth Fun Run. Begins on Second Street downtown.

9 a.m – 2 p.m. Saturday: Empowerment Sessions and The Heritage Bowl at 2 p.m. Alexandria Riverfront Center.

4 p.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday: City of Alexandria – Parks & Rec Party in Your Park Series presents MLK Celebration Downtown/Mini Park.

4:30 p.m. Sunday: Wreath Placing Ceremony at the MLK Memorial Marker on Murray Street at the I-49 overpass.

6:30 a.m. Monday: Prayer Breakfast, Alexandria Convention Hall.

10 a.m. Monday: MLK Parade (begins at Bolton Avenue Community Center) followed by MLK Noon Day Celebration at the Alexandria Riverfront Center.

Noon – 6 p.m. Monday: D.R.E.A.M. Vision Exhibits, Business Expo & Celebration Entertainment at 2 p.m., D.R.E.A.M. Spelling Bee Finale at 4 p.m. Alexandria Riverfront Center.

 

• The events commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. King are proper to be commemorated as serving a great and singular public purpose in the City of Alexandria. The events planned and outlined herein are consistent with this commemoration.
• The City has planned multiple events for celebrating this day to honor the defined national purposes and meaning of the day.
• The Alexandria Human Rights Commission (“HRC”) and Rotary International, Downtown Alexandria Chapter (“Rotary”), have co-hosted past programming in furtherance of the City’s endeavors to create a Civil Rights Park honoring the life and legacy of MLK and other significant figures in the civil rights movement of a local and non-local nature. These organizations continue to contribute effort in this regard, especially champions within the organizations who recognize what memorials mean to a community. Notably, persons involved with the Holocaust Memorial were committed then and remain committed now to this project.
• The City has endeavored to increase activity over the last several years to better augment and support activities and bring new and innovative programming online for the weekend. The programming declares the MLK weekend for 2018 as festival days throughout the City for partnering purposes. The City-Wide Inter-Denominational Revival Crusade, and other community, local, regional, state and national officials and their offices participate with historical programming. At minimum, the festival days throughout the City for partnering purposes, embrace multiple events, which may include but are not limited to:

o Activities to promote and support the MLK Day Parade;

o Activities to promote and support the City-wide programming and memorial events;

o Activities to promote and support community charrettes;

o Activities to promote and support community meetings to educate and promote economic development and related activity toward equal justice and opportunity; and

o Activities to entertain citizens revolving around the pillars of American life to include matters of conscience and faith, economic justice, legal justice, the family, and equal access to education.

In keeping with City goals, the following schematic exemplifies the structure of programming and economic opportunities declared a matter of public policy:

This Administration seeks to provide excellence in new, innovative, and existing quality-of-life initiatives; reinvestment in infrastructure long deferred; and evidence based, aggressive, and steady plans of work to make Alexandria an attractive, safe, healthy, and fun place to live, work, and play. Economic Opportunity development programming following the MLK mandate will continue to be programmed, especially through February of 2018. Alexandria plans to host unique opportunities to bring citizens together in charting opportunity.