Martin Luther King Jr. Day events: Community march, celebration, candlelight vigil & more

Update: The Martin Luther King Jr. Day march scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday has been canceled due to expected inclement weather. Instead, a community event featuring free breakfast and coffee will be hosted at the Lincoln Center from 10:30 a.m. to noon followed by a community event at the Lincoln Center at 12:30 p.m.

Drive out darkness, march through early Fort Collins' historic Black neighborhoods and peek back into the past this Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The city of Fort Collins and Colorado State University have a few events planned to honor the civil rights leader, ranging from a self-guided Black history tour of the city to an annual march ending with a community celebration at The Lincoln Center.

Here are some events to plan for this Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Fort Collins.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day march and celebration

When: Starting 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 15

Where: Colorado State University Oval

Honor Martin Luther King Jr. with this annual community march, which will set off from CSU's Oval at 11 a.m., travel north on Howes Street to Cherry Street and down North Meldrum Street. The 1.7-mile route takes marchers through the north Old Town neighborhoods Black families historically called home in Fort Collins in the early 1900s, including past the home of Mattie and William Lyle, the historic home of Fort Collins High School's first Black graduate Virgil Thomas, the Hattie McDaniel House and others.

The march will end around 12:45 p.m. at The Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St. There, a community celebration will kick off with welcomes from local leaders and live performances.

Podcast: Unearth the little-known stories of Fort Collins' early Black history

Citywide candlelight vigil in honor of MLK Jr. Day

The city of Fort Collins invites residents to set battery-powered tea light luminaries along their sidewalks and driveways as part of a citywide Martin Luther King Jr. Day candlelight vigil. The vigils, planned in collaboration with CSU and other community partners, seek to honor Dr. King's words: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

You can request luminary materials be brought to your home or business by filling out a form that can found through mlkfortcollins.org. Pickup for these materials will be at these locations around town:

• Harmony Library, 4616 S. Shields St. (Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m.)

• Fort Collins City Hall, 300 Laporte Ave. (Thursday from 1-4 p.m.)

• Old Town Library, 201 Peterson St. (Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)

• Council Tree Library, 2733 Council Tree Ave. #200 (Saturday from 4:30-7:30 p.m.)

• 281 N. College Ave. (Sunday from 3–6 p.m.)

A self-guided Black history tour

Want a glimpse into Black history in early Fort Collins? Check out the city's self-guided tour of homes, businesses and former building sites where Fort Collins' Black community lived, worked and fought against the city's widespread racism and discrimination. Download the city's complete walking and biking tour brochure at fcgov.com/historicpreservation/blackfortcollinstour.

For more information on Martin Luther King Jr. Day events planned in Fort Collins, visit mlkfortcollins.org.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Community events, vigils, more planned for MLK Jr. Day in Fort Collins