CLARIFICATION — The dinner is free to enter, but those interested in attending the event need to contact the Moses Lake Martin Luther King Jr. Committee to reserve a ticket, ensuring there is enough space for everyone at the venue. Miranda Bridges may be reached at 509-761-13678 and Alanda Furtelle at 757-995-3272.

MOSES LAKE — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Jan. 19, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee is hosting its annual freedom march that day at 4:30 p.m. This year, the committee is expanding the celebration with a community dinner and silent auction taking place Saturday at 5 p.m. 

“Normally, for our Martin Luther King program, we have our march and then our annual program, but this year we are having a dinner to honor Dr. Martin Luther King,” said Miranda Bridges, President of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee. 

The dinner will take place at The Garden venue at 605 E Nelson and will be free to enter for the public, but those interested in attending the event need to contact the Moses Lake Martin Luther King Jr. Committee at 509-761-1378 to reserve a ticket, ensuring there is enough space for everyone at the venue. The committee will be serving a large variety of food with ham, chicken, beans, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, green beans, sweet potato pie and iced tea and lemonade to drink. 

“We talked about having a dinner last year, we wanted to do a dinner that it was free to the public,” said Bridges. “It was a way for us to just bring the community together.” 

This year’s dinner has a color scheme that was specifically chosen to go along with a central message that they want to share with the community. Alanta Furtell, a treasurer for the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, said the two colors that were chosen for the dinner were black and white. 

“Our thought behind the colors of our decorations was we wanted to put some meaning behind it, so we chose black and white,” said Furtell. “Black symbolizes heritage, unity, strength and power under our shared past and we chose white, which symbolizes purity, new beginnings and spirituality, representing hope for the future. Together, those colors reflect unity and inclusivity within the community.” 

The committee will host a silent auction during Saturday’s dinner to help raise money to support their annual programs, including the MLK Day and Juneteenth events, said Bridges. Some of the items up for auction include a Ten Pin jacuzzi suite and dinner certificate, jewelry, household appliances, an Anytime Fitness one-year membership and electronics. 

Monday will see the return of the annual freedom march from Surf ‘n Slide Waterpark to the Moses Lake Civic Center, where there will be additional programming. As people march, she said they will play Dr. King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. 

Pastor Ron Lewis will officiate the celebration at the Civic Center starting at 5:30 p.m., followed by music selections from local churches. 

Pastor Patrick Hamm will serve as the MC for the evening, Pastor Plasido Lindsey will read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Pastor Lewis will then deliver his keynote address. Elementary students have been given the opportunity to win cash prizes through a coloring contest for grades K-3 or an essay contest for grades 4-5.  

“I think that was a really wonderful piece that we’re going to do, and we’re trying to continue to work with the Moses Lake School District and getting the students to participate,” she said. 

Bridges said this event is important to the local community because it reminds everyone that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream is for everyone and to truly honor his legacy is to embrace diversity and come together as a community. 

“I don’t want people to think that it’s just for one race,” she said. “I want this march to be a reminder of his dream and that he wants to unite us all. The program, the march, is definitely a reminder of the progress that we all go through in this journey and it’s a reminder that every voice matters and every heart beats for justice.” 

Community Dinner at The Garden
Jan. 17, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
605 E Nelson St. 

Freedom March
Jan. 19, 4:30 p.m.
Surf ‘n Slide Waterpark
Celebration at Civic Center: 5:30 p.m. 

    One of the Dreamers in Action waves to the crowd at the beginning of the Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration last year. MLK Jr. Committee president Miranda Bridges said the committee is working with the Moses Lake School District to get students more involved in the celebration.
  

    Pastor Plasido Lindsey from Galilee M.B. Church reads Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech during last year’s celebration.
  

    Moses Lake Martin Luther King Jr. Committee President Miranda Bridges stands at the podium with Betty Spells, Deanna Smith and Ronald White from the committee standing behind her during a city council meeting earlier this week.