{"id":119428,"date":"2026-01-15T17:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T17:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/119428\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T17:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T17:39:12","slug":"st-pete-celebrates-mlks-legacy-for-45-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/119428\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Pete celebrates MLK’s legacy for 45 days"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ASt. Pete\u2019s 2019 MLK Dream Big parade. Credit: CityofStPete \/ Flickr<\/a><\/p>\n

Every January, St. Petersburg marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a parade. This year, that moment stretches into something larger\u2014and longer.<\/p>\n

Under the leadership of the\u00a0Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival,<\/a>\u00a0St. Petersburg is in the middle of its first-ever\u00a045 Days of Excellence: a season that begins Jan. 1 and culminates on Valentine\u2019s Day with the ninth annual Collard Green Festival.<\/p>\n

At the center of it all, a dedicated team led by Samantha Harris, executive director of the festival, who describes the idea plainly: create one umbrella that honors Black history, resilience, and everyday excellence\u2014not as a single-day observance, but as a lived practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you get over one barrier, please know that there are 100 more in front of you,\u201d Harris said on the\u00a0Tampa Bay Arts Passport\u00a0podcast. \u201cExcellence represents the attitude you have to have to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why 45 days\u2014and why now<\/p>\n

The structure is intentional. The 45th day lands on the Collard Green Festival itself, a community-rooted event that began in 2015 with church fundraisers and pressure cookers, and has since grown into one of St. Petersburg\u2019s most expansive cultural gatherings.<\/p>\n

Between those two points\u2014Jan. 1 and Feb. 14\u2014the city is highlighting everyday heroes, expanding MLK service grants to run across the full 45 days, and linking health, history, culture, and youth entrepreneurship into a single narrative.<\/p>\n

This matters now because the work has outgrown the calendar. What used to be one parade has become an ecosystem.<\/p>\n

The MLK Day Parade, reimagined<\/p>\n

This Monday\u2019s\u00a0St. Pete MLK Day Parade<\/a>\u00a0is the most visible expression of that shift.<\/p>\n

For the first time, the event is officially named the\u00a0St. PMLK Parade, with a rotating annual theme. This year\u2019s:\u00a0The Power of a Dream.<\/p>\n

The lineup reflects that scale and intention:<\/p>\n

Three HBCU marching bands\u2014Tuskegee University, Alabama A&M University, and Talladega College<\/p>\n

Twelve additional middle and high school bands traveling from Georgia and South Florida<\/p>\n

The Wendell Scott Foundation, honoring the first Black NASCAR race winner\u2014whose victory went unrecognized at the time\u2014with his original race car in the parade<\/p>\n

Dr. Kanika Tomalin Flowers serving as Grand Marshal<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, Harris says the planning effort involved weekly city meetings and a rotating team of 30 to 40 people\u2014all assembled in under six months.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was whatever it took to get this parade up the street,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Health as celebration, not obligation<\/p>\n

The 45 Days of Excellence continue with the\u00a0I Love Collard Greens 5K & Fitness Extravaganza\u00a0on Feb. 1 at Lake Vista Recreation Center.<\/p>\n

More than 325 participants are already registered for the free event, which includes a fun run, fitness clinics, youth sports activations, and skateboarding and tennis programs. It\u2019s designed to meet people where they are\u2014runners, walkers, families, elders.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can skip it. You can walk it,\u201d Harris said. \u201cWhatever way you want to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n

That philosophy carries into the festival itself.<\/p>\n

Held Feb. 14 on the historic Deuces Corridor, the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival isn\u2019t just about food\u2014though yes, you will eat collard greens.<\/p>\n

The festival is built around three pillars:<\/p>\n

Food sourcing\u2014understanding where food comes from and how systems affect health<\/p>\n

Food preparation\u2014rethinking tradition without losing culture<\/p>\n

Movement\u2014free workouts for kids, adults, and seniors throughout the day<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also live music, a collard greens cook-off sponsored by the Woodson African American Museum of Florida, free produce giveaways, youth zones with pony rides and petting zoos, and a full vendor marketplace.<\/p>\n

Harris describes it simply: \u201cIt\u2019s like a big community reunion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investing in the next generation<\/p>\n

That foot traffic fuels something else, too.<\/p>\n

The festival\u2019s\u00a0Next Gen Biz Builders\u00a0program trains youth entrepreneurs through a six-week course covering financial literacy, marketing, and business development. Participants receive stipends, mentorship, and the chance to sell directly at the festival.<\/p>\n

Last year, three student businesses sold out before the festival even ended.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese kids aren\u2019t going to be on anyone\u2019s job for 30 or 40 years,\u201d Harris said. \u201cWhy not help them build something of their own now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Excellence as a daily practice<\/p>\n

Asked how people can embody the spirit of the 45 Days of Excellence\u2014even if they can\u2019t attend an event\u2014Harris doesn\u2019t point to grand gestures.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmile. Say hello. Hold the door open,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to start a nonprofit. Change starts small.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a season defined by scale\u2014parades, festivals, thousands of attendees\u2014the throughline is intimacy: people caring for each other on purpose.<\/p>\n

Forty-five days is just the frame. The work, as Harris makes clear, is ongoing.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"St.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe city is collaborating with the Tampa Bay Collard Green festival.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Photos:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tOrganizers shipped 20,000 oysters from Chesapeake Bay into Tampa.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Meet\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThey\u2019re raising money for the project\u2019s next phases at CroomFest next month.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

This article appears in Jan. 15 \u2013 21, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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