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Weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations, memorials underway in Fresno. What to know

Fresno’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Committee is celebrating its 39th annual Commemoration Celebration this weekend with a series of events, memorials, tributes and a community march.

Events kicked off on Friday morning with a garlanding ceremony at Courthouse Park, followed by an awards ceremony in the afternoon.

King Elementary school African-American Dance Troupe members perform during the annual Martin Luther King garlanding event at Fresno County Courthouse Park in Fresno on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.The 39th annual events were kicked off with the garlanding ceremony at the MLK memorial bust to honor and remember slain civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
King Elementary school African-American Dance Troupe members perform during the annual Martin Luther King garlanding event at Fresno County Courthouse Park in Fresno on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.The 39th annual events were kicked off with the garlanding ceremony at the MLK memorial bust to honor and remember slain civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com

Saturday events include a community breakfast with the Clovis Police Department at California Health Sciences University, 2500 Alluvial Ave., in Clovis at 9 a.m. Tickets are required and the $5 fee should be pre-paid. Those wishing to attend can contact Erin Ford-Horio at 559-324-2476 or erinf@cityofclovis.com for more ticketing information.

Later that afternoon, services will be held at Westside Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 2750 S. MLK Blvd. in west Fresno at 6 p.m.

The community is invited to gather on Sunday, too, at Westside Church of God, 1424 W. California Ave., for a gospel tribute at 4 p.m. followed by a candlelit vigil at 6 p.m.

Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, center, helps students place flowers on the MLK memorial bust during the annual Martin Luther King garlanding event at Fresno County Courthouse Park in Fresno on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.The 39th annual events were kicked off with the garlanding ceremony at the MLK memorial bust to honor and remember slain civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, center, helps students place flowers on the MLK memorial bust during the annual Martin Luther King garlanding event at Fresno County Courthouse Park in Fresno on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.The 39th annual events were kicked off with the garlanding ceremony at the MLK memorial bust to honor and remember slain civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. CRAIG KOHLRUSS ckohlruss@fresnobee.com

A free concert will also be held on Sunday night. The Countdown to King Concert & Rally will be hosted at The Tower Theatre from 9:30 p.m. to midnight, leading up to the community march on Monday morning.

Those wanting to participate in Monday morning’s march should head to St. Johns Cathedral in Fresno, 2814 Mariposa Ave. Organizers plan to assemble the crowd at 9:30 a.m. to begin the march at 10 a.m.

The crowd will stop at Fresno City Hall and then proceed to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Once the march concludes, the commemoration program will begin at 11 a.m.

Laura S. Diaz
The Fresno Bee
Laura S. Diaz is the engagement reporter for The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab. She previously was The Bee’s COLAB Latino communities reporter. Before working in Fresno, Laura covered social justice, local government and accountability issues for The Stockton Record, and began her career working for CBS News and the Associated Press Elections Center in New York City. She grew up in Mexico and graduated from New York University with a B.S. in media communications and journalism.
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