Key changes in store for 2015 MLK Jr. Celebration

Parade moved to Saturday, gala goes to Liberty Place

By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com

Members of the Richmond County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Foundation Committee are ready to welcome in the New Year.

Photo by Kevin Spradlin Nearly 200 people marched in the 2014 Martin Luther King Jr. parade and march in downtown Rockingham. This year's event is moved to a Saturday morning, on Jan. 17.

Photo by Kevin Spradlin
Nearly 200 people marched in the 2014 Martin Luther King Jr. parade and march in downtown Rockingham. This year’s event is moved to a Saturday morning, on Jan. 17.

After all, it’s only another two weeks after that before their year-long work pays off. Two noteworthy changes are in store with this year’s event. First, the commemorative parade and march in downtown Rockingham is being moved to Saturday, Jan. 17.

This year’s theme is “Awaking the dream.”

Participants are asked to gather at the staging area at 11:30 a.m. at Thomas Leath Memorial Library on Rockingham Road for lineup assignments. The parade and march is expected to begin at noon.

The march, previously held on a Monday morning, will begin at the corner of East Washington Street and Rockingham Road and proceeds to the steps of the Richmond County Courthouse for a brief service.

The other key change is the relocation of the Friday night MLK Gala. It will begin at 9 p.m. Jan. 16 at Liberty Place on East Washington Street in Rockingham. The gala had previously been held in Hamlet. Donations of $10 each are being accepted to cover the cost of the event.

The committee formed in the 1980s and began with only a small group of people, members of which chose to march in front of the Richmond County Schools administrative office in Hamlet to show support of the late civil rights leader. The first observance of the federal holiday in Richmond County was in 1985. On Nov. 3, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill that established the third Monday of every January as the Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday, effective January 1986.

Schedule of events

* Friday, Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. — MLK Gala at Liberty Place in Rockingham

* Saturday, Jan. 17 at 9 a.m. — Prayer Breakfast at FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital in Rockingham

* Saturday, Jan. 17 at noon — Commemorative Parade/March starting near Leath Memorial Library

* Saturday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. — Youth Extravaganza at Leak Street Educational and Cultural Center

* Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. — Ecumenical Service at First United Methodist Church in Rockingham.

* Monday, Jan. 19 at noon — Luncheon at Sidney Grove Family Agape Center, 401 McIntyre Road, Ellerbe. Donations of $12 are requested to help cover event costs.

* Jan. 16 through Jan. 23 — Poster exhibits at Leath Memorial Library in Rockingham

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  • sportsnut

    I do believe the Daily Journal beat y’all to this one as they out an article out almost two weeks ago and had two photos of the posters in the library yesterday.

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