Charlotte Rickert and her family relocated from Woodland Park to Manitou Springs a few months ago, and they brought with them a long-running Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration and educational event.
The 27th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Festival will be held in Manitou Springs City Hall (606 Manitou Ave.) on Saturday, Jan. 18, from noon to 4 p.m. It is free to the public.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday happens every third Monday in January to commemorate King’s leadership in nonviolent activism during the Civil Rights Movement to protest systemic racial discrimination, leading to legislative and cultural reforms. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill that created the federal holiday in 1983.
Why the move to Manitou Springs? Charlotte cited Woodland Park’s social environment as a factor in moving both her family and the event to Manitou Springs, where she’s found a warm reception.
“It’s just been wonderful how welcomed the event has been,” Charlotte said. “It’s been refreshing.”
Charlotte said she and other organizers started the festival because Woodland Park did not have a public celebration around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and they felt it was especially important to have one because the community itself was predominantly white and, as she put it, “not very diverse.” She wanted to see the children in the town “get some kind of education in diversity, in celebrating diversity, the power of diversity … the concept of judging by the content of character.”
Charlotte said she and other organizers have made sure to put focus on King’s life’s work and not the man himself.
“We always made the event about his dream,” she said, referencing the famous “I Have a Dream” speech King delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.
The festival will feature hands-on arts and crafts for all ages, including guided painting at 3 p.m. with a local artist, Kenya Russel, who will help participants create their own renditions of a sailboat on sunlit water with the King quote, “We may have come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” Art created during past festivals will be on display, including paintings by local artist Lois Sprague.
There will be black history learning opportunities through mediums as varied as videos, books and coloring pages, plus snacks and desserts and live acoustic tunes by local band tSusn Music.
The event is sponsored by local Ba’haiis of Manitou Springs and a variety of volunteers, but it is not a religious event.
