This weekend there will be a whole lot of celebrations of the life and lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. going on, and High Point is one city that’s certainly packing in quite a bit of those from Friday, Jan. 12 through Monday, Jan. 15.
In addition to the annual parade, there will be opportunities for “spiritual reflection and community celebration,” according to the city’s invitation sent out to whoever wants to attend. One of the events the City of High Point invites everyone to will honor the legacy of King and celebrate the inauguration of the new City Council.
Here’s a schedule of the MLK Weekend of Service and Celebration events:
Friday, Jan. 12
• The City of High Point will hold the MLK Day of Service from 9 a.m. to noon. City employees can take part in service activities across the city while receiving their regular pay.
• The Black and White Ball will take place at 7 p.m. at The High Point Country Club at 800 Country Club Dr. At this fundraising gala, representatives of the Carl Chavis YMCA will recognize community members who have demonstrated outstanding leadership. This will include honoring the recipient of the City’s Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Saturday, Jan. 13
• MLK Parade at 1 p.m. on Main Street. Everyone loves a parade so there should be a good turnout for this parade that will run north from Green Drive to Qubein Avenue.
• Inauguration Celebration at 2 p.m. at Truist Point. The public is invited to a block party to celebrate the newly inaugurated City Council. This will feature music and inflatable family games.
Sunday, Jan. 14
• Inauguration Prayer Service from 3 to 5 p.m. at the High Point Theatre at 220 E. Commerce Ave. This event will feature a prayer service meant to uplift the newly elected City Council – followed by chance for attendees to greet council members.
Monday, Jan. 15
• MLK Celebration Breakfast at 8 a.m. at the Qubein Conference Center. This event is being organized by the Minister’s Conference of High Point and Vicinity. It will include an oratorical contest based on the theme “Let’s chat for change in an AI world.”
• MLK Service at 6 p.m. at Williams Memorial CME Church at 3400 Triangle Lake Road. This evening workshop service will include awarding scholarships for the morning’s oratorical contest winners.
The High Point Parks and Recreation Department is also hosting two events: one on Monday, Jan. 15, and one later in the month.
On January 15, the Washington Terrace Community Center at 101 Gordon St. will hold a dove release at 10:30 a.m. including a brief program and a continental breakfast. For more information, you can call 336-883-8599.
On Wednesday, Jan. 24, the Roy B. Culler Center at 921 Eastchester Dr. (Suite 1230) will be the site of “Reading Keepsakes: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” The program will feature readings of King’s letters advocating for civil rights narrated by a librarian from the High Point Public Library. For more information, you can call 336-883-3584.
Another wasted weekend
MLK gets four days. Fine. What does George Washington get? Benjamin Franklin? TJ? Abe? FDR? Hmmm?
George Washington, Abe, FDR get President’s day. Benjamin Franklin gets 4th of July as a founding father.
Next question. Hmmmm? Wonder what triggered Mr Forester about MLK day?
MLK was a great American. He wanted real equal rights for Black people, but not at the expense of other people’s rights. He did not suggest the hostility that white people get from the left. He wanted for us all to be together. I think we all want that.
The discrimination against white people could be very like as the black people got. Some sort of revenge. We should all be together in this Republic. Instead we get even more divisiveness from both the left and the right. “Can’t we all just get along?”