(Longview, TX) The Next Major Holiday Coming Up On The Calendar Is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday And Celebrations Are Being Planned All Across East Texas.

As the nation prepares to spend a weekend honoring a hero of the Civil Rights Movement, The City of Longview has big plans and a big schedule of events for the MLK Weekend and we're happy to share all the details about it with you!

The Citywide MLK Celebration Begins Friday, Jan. 17, through Monday, Jan. 20.

The celebration begins on Friday Jan. 17th with an opening reception and jazz concert at the Longview Community Center starting at 6:00 PM.

This event is free to attend featuring performances by Low D ft. Victoria Hernandez.

The MLK Celebration Parade Starts At 10:00 AM on Saturday Jan. 18th.

The Parade Route will be along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It will Starts at Pittman Street and conclude at Broughton Recreation Center.

Its $10 per parade entry and advance registration is required; no registrations will be accepted on the day of the parade. Parade entries must read and abide by parade guidelines and you find them and an application HERE.

Following the parade there will be a Community Festival featuring vendors, food, music and kids activities up until 3:00 pm at the Broughton Recreation Center and a Humanitarian Award Celebration at 6:30 p.m. If you're interested in being a vendor CLICK HERE.

A new event added to this year's celebration is a Musical Celebration on Sunday Jan. 19th at the Parkview Baptist Church which is also free to attend from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

The Celebration Concludes With The MLK March On Monday Jan. 20th.

On Monday, Jan. 20th, the community is invited to participate in a march from Broughton Park to Mt. Olive Baptist Church at 11:30 a.m., which will be immediately followed by an Interfaith Service.

For more information about all these events, a parade map, sponsor listing, and form to provide input for future MLK Events are available at LongviewTexas.gov/MLK.