Pierce County communities will celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

The country will honor civil rights leader and 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr. with a national holiday Monday.

Here are some of the ways people will celebrate King’s legacy in Pierce County:

Lakewood

Lakewood will host its 14th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at the Sharon McGavick Conference Center at Clover Park Technical College, 4500 Steilacoom Blvd. SW.

The theme is “The Dream in Person,” with featured speaker Cinthia Illan-Vazquez, Daffodil Festival princess, Act Six scholar, and graduate of Clover Park High School and Whitworth University. Featured performers will include trumpeter Morris Northcutt, the Prairie Bells, Harrison Prep School Choir, and the Rev. Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir.

Admission and parking are free. For more information, call 253-983-7835.

Urban Grace Church

“Martin Luther King Jr., Redeeming the Prophetic Vision” is an annual interfaith community event to honor King’s call for peace and justice for all people.

It will be 2:30-4 p.m. Sunday at Urban Grace Church, 902 Market St., Tacoma.

The event is produced by The Conversation in partnership with Associated Ministries and Urban Grace Church.

It will include blessings from multiple faith and wisdom traditions, spoken word and music addressing civil rights and justice themes and messages from Chimaera, also known as Charhys Bailey, and other local voices on how to extend King’s vision through action. A reception with refreshments and social justice community resource tables will follow.

There is an additional entrance at the back of Urban Grace on Ninth Street.

More information can be found at facebook.com/TalkandAction.

Bates Technical College

Bates Technical College will honor King on Monday with the annual March for MLK. Marchers will walk from the downtown campus at 1101 S. Yakima Ave. to the city of Tacoma’s King event at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center.

Marchers will meet at 8 a.m. for refreshments and conversation at the downtown campus cafeteria at South 11th Street and Yakima Avenue. At 9 a.m., the group will march to the city’s celebration. After the march and the city’s event, a shuttle will return participants to the downtown campus.

More information about the celebration and the march is available by calling 253-680-7000 or at bates.ctc.edu.

University of Washington Tacoma

The theme of this year’s UWT Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast is “Let’s Talk About Action.”

The 11th annual breakfast will be 8-10:30 a.m. Monday at the University Y Student Center, 1710 Market St. Educator Erin Jones, who recently ran for state superintendent of public instruction, is the keynote speaker.

The program recognizes students, faculty and community members for outstanding service with the Dream Awards, which are presented during the program. This year’s Unity Breakfast is co-sponsored by the Division of Student and Enrollment Services and the Black Student Union.

For more information, email mlkuwt@uw.edu or call 253-692-4501.

Washington State History Museum

The museum, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, will host an afternoon of programming Monday called “Finding Your Voice Through Art.” Admission to the programs is free.

At 1 p.m., artists from ONYX Fine Arts Collective will demonstrate how art is a vessel for self-expression by showcasing their own artistic techniques. After the demonstrations, visitors will have a chance to put the techniques to use by creating artwork to take home.

At 3 p.m., there will be a performance by Northwest Tap Connection, a group from Seattle that promotes artistic development and social responsibility through dance and spoken word. After the performance, artistic director Melba Ayco and the performers will speak about their method of blending art and self-expression into calls for social justice.

City of Tacoma

The theme for the city of Tacoma’s 29th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration is taken from King’s words about the “beloved community.”

The celebration will be at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, 1500 Broadway. Doors open at 10 a.m., and the event begins at 11 a.m.

It will feature keynote speaker Harold Moss, Tacoma’s first African American mayor, first black member of the Tacoma City Council and the first black member of the Pierce County Council.

Moss has been active in Tacoma since the 1950s, when he was a member of the local branch of the NAACP. He served two terms as president of the branch. He also served on Tacoma’s first Human Relations Commission, currently known as the Human Rights Commission. In 1968, he helped create the Tacoma Urban League.

Maxine Mimms, who helped found the Tacoma branch campus of The Evergreen State College, will be honored with the 2017 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award.

The celebration will include music, dance and poetry.

There will be free holiday on-street parking and free parking at Freighthouse Square, 2501 E. D St., with connections to downtown and the convention center via the Link light rail train. Designated complimentary parking stalls will be available on a first-come, first-served basis near the convention center.

The annual program is spearheaded by the City Events and Recognition Committee. It will air live on TV Tacoma. More information is available at cityoftacoma.org/mlk or by calling 253-573-2523.

University of Puget Sound

Julianne Malveaux, labor economist, author and commentator, will speak at the 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at University of Puget Sound.

It will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Schneebeck Concert Hall on the campus.

Malveaux’s latest book is “Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy.”

The event also will include messages from the university community, including President Isiaah Crawford; Shannon Woods, president of the campus Black Student Union; and Noah Lumbantobing, president of Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound.

In addition, the annual Keep Living the Dream Award will be presented to a member or members of the campus community. A public reception in the Tahoma Room of Thomas Hall, near the center of campus, will conclude the event.

The celebration is sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs, Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound, and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Pierce County communities will celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.."