Observances of the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. are planned on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Monday is a federal holiday marking King’s birthday, which was Jan. 15, 1929.
It is also a day of service for many.
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.
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK
In King’s honor, Olympic National Park, along with other national parks across the nation, will waive entrance fees Monday.
The fee waiver will be only Monday, not throughout the holiday weekend as it was in 2012.
However, free screenings of a 30-minute video, “A New Time, a New Voice,” about the life and work of King, will be presented at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday through Monday at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, 3002 Mount Angeles Road, in Port Angeles.
Additional screenings will be available upon request at the visitor center, which is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Also, Hurricane Ridge will be open for snow play throughout the weekend, today through Monday, weather permitting.
Hurricane Ridge Road and Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center are scheduled to be open from 9 a.m. until dusk, if there is no harsh weather to prompt closure.
Ranger-guided snowshoe walks will be offered at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Space on the walks is limited; visitors should sign up in advance at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center information desk.
The snack bar and ski rental shop are scheduled to be open, along with the downhill ski area rope tows, snow depth and weather permitting.
Park visitors are reminded that the fee-free designation applies to entrance fees only and does not affect fees for camping, reservations, tours or use of concessions.
All Points Charters & Tours will provide twice-daily van service from downtown Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge today through 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 12:35 p.m. before the 45-minute drive to Hurricane Ridge.
Vans leave Hurricane Ridge at about 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The round-trip fare is $20 per person, with children 7 to 12 costing $10.
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.
Commemorations planned in Port Townsend and Port Angeles are:
PORT TOWNSEND
Rose hosts tribute
PORT TOWNSEND — A free screening of the film “The Loving Story” will be presented at the Rose Theatre in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day at1 p.m. Monday.
Space is limited, so though the screening is free, tickets must be picked up at the Rose box office, 221 Taylor St.
A racially charged criminal trial and a heart-rending love story converge in this unrated 77-minute documentary about Mildred and Richard Loving.
The marriage of Mildred, who was part-black and part-Native American, and Richard, who was white, was declared illegal in 1958 in their home state of Virginia.
They refused to leave one another and, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, relentlessly pursued their right to happiness.
In November, the film was awarded the John E. O’Connor Film Prize for outstanding interpretations of history from the American Historical Association.
Work on Adventuress
PORT TOWNSEND — Volunteers can help refurbish the Adventuress this weekend for a Day of Service project.
Sanding, scraping, varnishing and other work will be done from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday on the tall-ship schooner at Haven Boatworks in Boat Haven Marina at 305 Eighth St.
Lunch will be provided. Children are welcome if accompanied by adults.
RSVP to daniel@sondexp.org or phone 360-379-0438.
The long weekend is the first of three winter work weekends set by Sound Experience, the nonprofit that operates the Adventuress.
Others will be Feb. 9-10 and March 2-3.
For more information, visit www.soundexp.org.
Quimper church
PORT TOWNSEND — The public is invited to participate in a weekend of interfaith events in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
All events will take place at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave.
“Crash,” the 2005 Academy Award winner for best picture, will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturday.
In the film, a seemingly simple car wreck in Los Angeles brings about issues of diversity, racism and racial profiling.
Discussion and conversation will follow the one-hour, 40-minute film.
A free-will offering will be taken. Child care will be available in the Education Building.
The fellowship’s 9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sunday services will combine music, hymns and the spoken word to focus on “Dreaming the Dream,” a look at what has happened since King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, “Fulfilling the Dream,” an interfaith-communitywide service of remembrance, will be held at 10:30 a.m.
The service will include multiple choirs, reflections, music and song.
The service will be held in the church’s sanctuary. A free-will offering will be taken.
Child care and special MLK Day activities will be provided for children of all ages in the Education Building.
Weed pull
PORT TOWNSEND — Volunteers are invited to pull noxious weeds on the beach dunes at Fort Worden State Park from noon to 3 p.m. Monday.
The weed pull is organized by the AmeriCorps staff at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center as a Day of Service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Volunteers will meet in the portico of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center’s Natural History Exhibit.
Tools and limited gloves will be provided. Warm clothing for outdoor work is suggested.
For more information, contact Amber Heasley at AHeasley@PTMSC.org or 360-385-5582, ext. 110.
PORT ANGELES
Work party
PORT ANGELES — The North Olympic Land Trust will host a volunteer work party on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.
This day is also known as the Day of Service, in honor of King’s legacy of community service.
In this spirit, the work party will run from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the end of Siebert Creek Road, which is between Port Angeles and Sequim off U.S. Highway 101 just east of Old Olympic Highway.
Volunteers will remove Scotch broom, a non-native invasive plant, in preparation for a spring tree planting.
RSVPs are encouraged but not required to Lorrie Campbell, stewardship director, at 360-417-1815, ext. 7, or lorrie@nolt.org.