UPDATED FOR 2019
Schools and government offices will be closed on Monday, January 21st, in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Day. Most other places are open. If you are looking for something to do with the kiddos or a way to share Dr. King’s legacy with your children, read on for some ideas!
If you’ve attended any of these events yourself, we’d love to hear about that, too! We always do our best to make these round-ups awesome, but I do ask that you use the provided links to double check event details before you head out. Thanks for doing that!
Opt Outside
Head to a Washington State Park free of charge, with no Discover Pass needed. In the South Sound, Saltwater State Park and Dash Point State Park are two fun choices.
The Point Defiance Zoo is open on MLK Day from 9:30am-4:00pm.
Catch a Ball Game
Starting at 9:00am, you can watch various local high school teams compete at the King Showcase Basketball Tournament in Kent. Rodney Stuckey of the Pistons came out of Kentwood, so you could be watching a future star!
Indoor Fun for the Littles
Free play or free swim Enjoy free play at the super cool TreeTops playground at the STAR center today or swim for free at any of Metro Parks Tacoma’s indoor pools.
Pump it Up in Tacoma has special Open Jump Sessions all day. Navigate to their calendar to find them. Check out our South Sound Bounce House List for other places to jump your heart out. Be sure to call ahead and confirm space and availability. Let us know if you find one that needs an update!
WiggleWorks in Puyallup is open on MLK Day, with a special discount for Meet Up Mondays.
Tiffany’s Skate Inn has schools out skate sessions today.
Be Socially Active
The Washington State History Museum is offering free admission and events
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration
Monday, January 21, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
FREE and open to the public
The museum is free and open to the public all day in honor of Dr. King. See a small panel exhibition detailing Dr. King’s visit to Washington State in the 1960s. Join us in the auditorium at 2:00 PM when our partners from Tacoma Arts Live will celebrate Dr. King’s legacy with a performance of Ruby Bridges. As part of Tacoma Arts Live’s Civil Rights Legacy Tour, Ruby Bridges is educational, family-friendly, and full of song and dance.
Bates Techincal College in Tacoma hosts their annual Martin Luther King Day March. All the info. is below. To find the details on their site, navigate to the date on the college calendar.
MLK’s legacy of service lives on in our annual March for MLK. Join college employees, students and countless community members to march to the City of Tacoma’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.
Marchers meet at 9 a.m. for refreshments and entertainment at the college’s Downtown Campus cafeteria on 11th Street and Yakima Avenue. At 10 a.m., the group begins marching to the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration, held at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center. A shuttle
will be available to return marchers to the Downtown Campus after the city’s celebration at 1 p.m.
9 a.m. – Refreshments in the cafeteria
10 a.m. – March begins
11 a.m. – Community Outreach Fair and MLK celebration at the Convention Center
For more information, contact 253.680.7178 or visit www.BatesTech.edu.
The City of Tacoma also has an annual event
Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Scheduled for January 21, 2019
The 31st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration in Tacoma will once again bring the community together to celebrate Monday, January 21, 2019 as a day on, not a day off.
January 21, 2019
10 AM – Doors open for Community Outreach Fair
11 AM – Program begins
Greater Tacoma Convention Center
Participate in a Day of Caring with Metro Parks Tacoma in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr Day and help spruce up your parks.
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If you want to do something special without leaving home, consider printing out some MLK coloring pictures and discussing with your kiddos what Dr. King means to Americans and all citizens of the world. Consider reading out loud to your children the famed “I have a Dream Speech” and encourage your children to share what kinds of dreams they have for positive change in the world. You can view the written speech in its entirety here. It’s rather lengthy, so you may not want to read the whole thing. You could also show them the most memorable part of the speech, found on You Tube.
As always, there are hundreds of other ideas to explore here at the site. If you know of an event for MLK day we missed, leave a comment or drop us a line!
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