Celebrate Martin Luther King at Jan. 22 event

Love Lives Here in the Flathead Valley hosts its annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration Tuesday.

Evolution of the Dream, featuring Flathead Valley leaders, musicians and youth leaders, starts at 7:30 p.m. at Flathead High School

The program will include music by the Crown of the Continent Multi-Faith Choir and vocal a cappella group Off The Record. Readings on historical and current social issues will be given by local youths and community leaders, and a short clip of a lesser-known but moving part of King’s “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech will be shown.

“It is exciting to be able to again celebrate Dr. King and his great work by sharing the gift of music with the Flathead Valley community,” Crown of the Continent Choir member Jana Goodman said. “Music was such an important part of the civil rights struggles of Dr. King and other social movements, and it continues to be a critical piece of the evolving dialogue around human rights in our world.”

The program will take the audience through the historical evolution of civil and human rights to today, and will engage the audience in reflection on the struggles of the past, celebration of the victories of King and others, and encourage them to contemplate the work yet to be done.

“Hopefully our process of bringing together local people of different faiths, experiences and backgrounds to create this program will demonstrate exactly what this holiday is about,” said the Rev. Julia McKay, co-chair of the local community group Love Lives Here and minister at Glacier Unitarian Universalist Church.

The event is free of charge and open to the public.

For more information, contact McKay at revjuliamckay@gmail.com or 885-8804.