2018 Reston Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration (PDF)
RESTON, VA — Reston Community Center will have a full slate of community events January 13 to 21 as it presents the 33rd Annual Reston Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration.
Tamika D. Mallory, national organizer of 2017’s Women’s March on Washington, will deliver this year’s keynote address at noon on January 15 at RCC Hunters Woods. Audience members will enjoy a family-style community lunch at RCC Hunters Woods following Mallory’s speech. Tickets are $5 for Reston residents and employees, and $10 for all others. Tickets to the community lunch and keynote address are required. The cost is $5 for Reston residents and employees, and $10 for all others. Tickets are available at the CenterStage box office or by calling 703-476-4500.
“With so many of the civil rights movement’s promises unfulfilled, it’s vital that we confront our present circumstances and collectively address what remains to be done,” said RCC Executive Director Leila Gordon. “Tamika Mallory is among new and urgent voices who are pushing us toward fully realizing the vision of Dr. King. Reston’s annual celebration of his birthday has always been designed to reinvigorate our commitments to the goals of the civil rights movement and the values of Reston’s founding. We look forward to Ms. Mallory’s visit and her call to action.”
In addition to events at RCC Hunters Woods, this year’s Reston Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration will also include events at Southgate Community Center and Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation. An engaging and enlightening performance, The Color Orange: A Hip-Hop Concert about Friendship and Multiculturalism caps the events on Sunday afternoon, January 21, in the CenterStage. See the below schedule for a comprehensive list.
The 33rd Reston Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration weekend is presented by Reston Community Center in cooperation with the Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church, the Office of Fairfax County Supervisor Catherine M. Hudgins, Reston Community Orchestra, Reston Association, Southgate Community Center and Cornerstones, with the support of other religious and civic organizations, business groups and schools.
For more information contact Kevin Danaher, Community Events Director, at 703-390-6166 or via email at kevin.danaher@fairfaxcounty.gov. To register for programs, visit www.restoncommunitycenter.com or call 703-476-4500.
2018 Reston Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Calendar of Events
Saturday, January 13
Community Service Projects
9:00 a.m.
Southgate Community Center
12125 Pinecrest Road, Reston, VA
All ages – Free – Registration required through Reston Association, 703-435-7986 or www.reston.org.
Join friends and neighbors in honoring Dr. King’s legacy by serving your community. As Dr. King said, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.” RCC is partnering with Southgate Community Center, Reston Association, Cornerstones and The Closet on community service projects. Indoor projects include making bag lunches for the Embry Rucker Community Shelter, sorting and organizing items from The Closet and several other projects at Southgate Community Center. There will also be several outdoor projects such as cleaning up the natural areas, pathways and hardscape surrounding Southgate, weather permitting. Volunteer hours conclude around noon, at which point volunteers will gather to share a lunch that will be provided.
Reston Community Orchestra 12th Annual Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
4:00 p.m.
RCC Hunters Woods – Community Room
Free, donations appreciated
Celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with this free concert that has become a meaningful addition to Reston’s annual weekend of activities commemorating this great American’s contributions and achievements. Combining the traditions of African-American culture and Western Classical music, the concert pays tribute to Dr. King’s vision of a society free of prejudice and racial divisions, and his belief in the power of music to help create positive change. Featured performers will include students from Al Fatih Academy, the Men’s Chorus of Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church of Reston and song stylist Beverly Cosham.
Sunday, January 14
Voices of Inspiration
4:00 p.m.
Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation
1441 Wiehle Avenue, Reston
All ages – Free
Voices of Inspiration is the 28th Anniversary program honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This event is sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church and includes many Reston faith communities.
Monday, January 15
Keynote Address by Tamika D. Mallory followed by Community Lunch
12:00 p.m.
RCC Hunters Woods: the CenterStage and Community Room
$5 Reston/$10 Non-Reston (tickets sold through the CenterStage box office)
Tamika D. Mallory, a co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, is nationally recognized as an advocate for civil rights issues, equal rights for women, health care, eradicating gun violence and eliminating police misconduct. She served as a national organizer for the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. A leading figure in the grassroots community-based effort to stop gun violence in New York City, Ms. Mallory was instrumental in creating the NYC Crisis Management System, an official gun violence prevention program that awards nearly $20 million annually to innovative violence prevention organizations. Mallory remains an urging and urgent voice for positive and necessary change. The community lunch will be in RCC’s Community Room following the keynote address.
Especially for Youth
11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
RCC Hunters Woods
6 – 12 Years Old. Free. Registration Required. Reg. #704750-8A
You may register your school age child (first to sixth grade) to participate in activities at RCC. Children should be registered in advance. Limited on-site registration will be available on the day of the event; however, all forms must be completed in their entirety. Children will rotate through a series of activities including a performance, an age-appropriate video, and arts and crafts. All activities will be based on the history of Dr. King and the civil rights movement.
Sunday, January 21
The Color Orange: A Hip-Hop Concert About Friendship and Multiculturalism
3:00 p.m.
RCC Hunters Woods – the CenterStage
$15 Reston/$20 Non-Reston (tickets sold through the CenterStage box office)
Mohammed Bilal and Josh “Boac” Goldstein use their friendship to actively challenge the stereotypes associated with “Black and White,” “Jew and Muslim,” “urban and suburban.” Through hip-hop, theatre and sheer mayhem, they create and demonstrate 10 steps we can take toward true cross-cultural communication and understanding. The Color Orange is a fun, vibrant new look at race, racism and the ways we can get along.
