Observances of the birthday of the late Martin Luther King Jr. are planned on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Monday is a federal holiday marking King’s Jan. 15 birthday.
It is also a day of service for many.
To celebrate the holiday, Olympic National Park has waived entrance fees this holiday weekend through Monday and is screening a 30-minute video, “A New Time, a New Voice,” about the life and work of the Rev. King.
King, a prominent leader of the African-American civil rights movement and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39.
Monday commemorations planned in Port Angeles and Port Townsend are:
AmeriCorps quilts
PORT ANGELES — North Olympic AmeriCorps members will team up with local students and community members to build “dream quilts” to commemorate the life and work of King.
The public is invited to participate in the project from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St.
At 2:30 p.m., Port Angeles City Councilman Pat Downie will discuss “The Power of Continuing Service in Our Community.”
Quilts will be displayed at various schools and businesses throughout Port Angeles.
Refreshments will be provided.
For more information, email Andrew Rahal at andrew.rahal@gmail.com.
MLK celebration
PORT TOWNSEND — A celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. will be held at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave., starting at 10:30 a.m.
Members of the fellowship’s children’s choir will open the program by singing “We Shall Overcome,” a protest song that became a key anthem of the civil rights movement.
Other presenters include poet Gary Copeland Lilley; Colleen Johnson, who will speak about white privilege; Diane Bommer, who will address economic injustice; Libby Palmer, who will discuss current immigration issues; and Joseph Bednarik, who will speak on service and community.
The PT Songlines community choir will sing, and the Poetic Justice Ensemble will perform.
There will also be activities, a time to share, refreshments and an opportunity to draft letters.
There is no admission charge for the event, but participants are asked to bring donations for the Port Townsend Food Bank or the Working Image program, which provides work wear to people in need.
‘Beloved Community’
PORT TOWNSEND — A film portraying examples of the ways in which Port Townsend is creating Martin Luther King’s ideal of a “beloved community” will be screened Monday.
The film, created by Jefferson Community School students, will be shown at 11 a.m. at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St., Port Townsend.
It is open to the public. A donation to support this and other films is welcome but not required.
Students at the private school asked people in town to talk about the concept of community and why they think King’s birthday has been designated as a day of service.
With the help of Jane Champion, Port Townsend Film Institute board chairwoman, and Andrew Burke, an independent videographer — both instructors at the school — the students filmed the responses and created “The Beloved Community.”
The “beloved community” was King’s ideal of self-sustaining communities that work together to share resources, said Paulette Lack, head of Jefferson Community School.
The students “found examples of how we are creating that beloved community,” Lack said.
The idea for the film came from Sheila Ramsey, AmeriCorps volunteer coordinator for Olympic Community Action Programs.
“She approached me, and it fit perfectly with what we do at the school,” Lack said, adding that Fridays are always a day of service at the school, which has 30 students.
Additional funding support came from the Port Townsend Arts Commission.
For more information about Jefferson Community School, which serves students in seventh through 12th grades, visit www.jeffersoncommunityschool.com.
More about park events
This holiday weekend’s Olympic National Park fee waiver applies only to entrance fees.
Fees will be charged for camping, reservations, tours and use of concessions.
The MLK video will be shown at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. today and Monday at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center at 3002 Mount Angeles Road in Port Angeles.
Additional viewings are available upon request.
The visitor center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Most other park roads and facilities are scheduled to be open throughout the weekend.
The Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, snack bar and ski shop will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day of the long weekend, including Monday.
Hurricane Ridge Road is scheduled to open daily at 9 a.m., weather permitting.
All Points Charters & Tours will provide twice-daily van service from downtown Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge today and Monday.
Shuttle vans leave the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center on Railroad Avenue at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and will pick up passengers at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., at 9:05 a.m. and 1:05 p.m. before the 45-minute drive to Hurricane Ridge.
Vans leave Hurricane Ridge at about 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The round-trip fare is $20 per person.
To reserve a spot on a van, phone 360-460-7131 or email tours@goallpoints.com.
Road status and current conditions are available by phoning the park’s recorded information line at 360-565-3131 or by visiting www.nps.gov/olym.