Here’s how to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. in West Orange County

West Plant Street in Winter Garden and Clarke Road in Ocoee will be filled with hope and pride.

Parade entrants will walk down the streets to honor the life, legacy and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, Jan. 19, during the cities’ respective parades and community celebrations. 

Bring a lawn chair or blanket to be comfortable on the sidewalk to enjoy the parades. Personal coolers and alcoholic beverages are not permitted, and both celebrations are rain-or-shine events. 

Ocoee’s 18th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Parade and Celebration is scheduled for 10 a.m. with the parade beginning at Citrus Elementary School and ending at West Oaks Mall. 

Local officials, school children, musicians, local organizations and more will walk the nearly two miles from the school to the mall as hundreds pack the sidewalks. 

A post-parade celebration will be held at 11 a.m. in the food court area in front of the carousel inside the West Oaks Mall. 

The master of ceremony will be Allie Braswell with Braswell Management, LLC, and the keynote speaker will be Ages Hart, an ordained bishop and associate pastor with Livingston Street Church of God. 

Gospel singer Sherrí Gladney will make a special guest appearance. 

Over in Winter Garden, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration will kick off at 11 a.m. with a parade through historic downtown. The parade will travel along West Plant Street from Woodland Street to Central Avenue. 

As of Thursday, Jan. 8, City Manager Jon Williams said there were 13 parade entrants. 

Immediately following the parade, community members are invited to the downtown pavilion at 104 S. Lakeview Ave. to continue the celebration. There will be a live music concert, children’s activities and more from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

The concert will feature Kat Riggins, a singer who pays homage to R&B, soul, gospel, rock and blues. Go Time, a high-energy band performing mash-ups from artists such as Bruno Mars, Lizzo, Prince and NSync, also will perform. 

There also will be vendor and community booths, some of which will be selling food and refreshments.

Select roads will be closed for the event, including Plant Street from Dillard Street to Central Avenue and adjoining side streets from 2 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19. Highland Avenue to Lakeview Avenue along Tremaine Street and part of South Lakeview Avenue between Plant and Tremaine streets will be blocked from 2 a.m. to about 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19.