Organizers have canceled the Martin Luther King Day Parade in Fort Worth at Sundance Square due to the recent surge positive of COVID-19 cases, according to the Fort Worth city website.
The Greater Fort Worth Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Committee stated that the cancelation is in the “community’s best interest.”
The annual parade and rally were originally scheduled for Saturday, January 15.
In a written statement, event organizers encouraged celebrants to find other ways to honor the spirit of the holiday this weekend: “In lieu of participation in this year’s annual parade, we invite our planned participants and community members to find creative and safe ways to serve within our community and surrounding areas.
We would ask you to remember that this wonderful holiday is not ‘a day off but a day on’ and a day to remember our shared commitment to producing a more just society.”
The Dallas Morning News stated Arlington’s scheduled MLK activities have also been postponed due to the rising number of COVID cases.
Other areas of the metroplex still have activities planned to commemorate the holiday.
On Saturday, January 15, the City of Mesquite and the local chapter of the NAACP will host a parade through downtown Mesquite, beginning at 10:00 a.m. A community celebration of speeches, choir presentations, and dances will follow at the Mesquite Arts Center at 1527 N. Galloway Avenue, beginning at 1:00 p.m.
The City of Dallas is hosting an online virtual experience of past parades and interviews on Monday, January 17, from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
An in-person parade is scheduled in Grand Prairie on MLK Day from 10:00 a.m. until 11 a.m. The parade starts at the Liberty Bell at 317 College Street and will march down Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, finishing at David Daniels Elementary School.
Following the parade, at 11:45 a.m., the Dalworth Recreation Center at 2021 Spikes Street in Grand Prairie will begin passing out free t-shirts and hot dogs while supplies last.