This Saturday, Long Beach will host its 38th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and Celebration to honor the life of the prolific Civil Rights activist.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s parade \u2014 with the theme \u201cRise Up, Stand Up for His Dream\u201d \u2014 will start at 10 a.m. at the intersection of MLK Avenue and Anaheim Street, then march north along MLK Avenue before ending at MLK Park on Lemon Avenue.<\/p>\n
After the parade ends at noon, there will be a full schedule of live entertainment in the park, which will also host a kids\u2019 zone along with food and merchandise vendors.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the schedule:<\/p>\n
12:15 p.m. \u2013 Flag Ceremony by Long Beach Polytechnic High School JROTC<\/p>\n
12:20 p.m. \u2013 Antioch Church will perform \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing\u201d<\/p>\n
12:30 to 1 p.m. \u2013 Performance by Gravity Dance Company<\/p>\n
1 to 1:30 p.m. \u2013 Program and announcements<\/p>\n
1:45 to 2:30 p.m. \u2013 Performance by DeMay<\/p>\n
2:30 to 2:45 p.m. \u2013 Poem readings by the winners of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Poetry Contest<\/p>\n
3 to 3:30 p.m. \u2013 Performance by Kristien Owens<\/p>\n
4 to 5 p.m. \u2013 Performance by Anita Wilson<\/p>\n
This year marks 58 years since King was assassinated while standing on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. King, who won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, was 39 years old.<\/p>\n
Grand Marshals for this year\u2019s parade include nonprofit leader Tito Rodriguez \u2014 also known as \u201cHood Santa\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Bruce Brown, Kimberly Benoit, Errol Parker, Robbie Butler, community organization The SIX LB, Darick Simpson, Mariko Kahn, Vice Mayor Roberto Uranga and former councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga. You can find more information on the grand marshals here.<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s a larger group of grand marshals than last year\u2019s parade, which drew controversy over its selection process.<\/p>\n Ahead of that event, Long Beach resident Sheba Gillis and several hundred other community members voiced concern<\/a>, which led to one honoree ultimately declining an award. Gillis called last year\u2019s parade planning process \u201cdisjointed\u201d and said previously that the result didn\u2019t \u201cmatch the wants or needs of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n