How Ventura County is celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Staff reports

Along with the rest of the country, Ventura County will be celebrating Martin Luther King Day on Monday. Here’s a look at the special events planned over the next several days.

On Sunday, a jazz requiem and tribute to King, first performed 50 years ago in New York a year after King's death, will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Santa Paula Community Center, 530 W. Main St., Santa Paula. Sponsored by the Santa Paula Ministerial Association, it will feature poetry, music and song, including performances by the Studio C Sextet and the Santa Paula High School Jazz Ensemble.

The largest celebration in Ventura County is set for Monday in Oxnard, the 33rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration. It will begin with an 8 a.m. freedom march from Plaza Park to the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, where the event will continue with an observance program beginning at 9 a.m. The march will be free; the program will cost $7, payable at the door.

Highlights will include keynote speaker Falilah “Aisha” Bilal, senior trainer for the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, AKA Sorority Speech Contest winner Catia Tran, scripture readings and musical selections by the MLK Community Choir, directed by Dr. Angela Timmons.

Plaza Park, where the march will start, is at 500 South C St. The Oxnard Performing Arts Center is at 800 Hobson Way. Information: mlkventuracounty.com.

Also on Monday, the 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Community Celebration will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Ojai's Libbey Park. High school students with the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation are puttiing on this event, which includes performances by local students, winners of a spoken-word essay contest and food. Posters created by students all through the Ojai Valley will be on display, and activities end at 3 p.m. with the broadcast of King's "I have a dream" speech. Information: ovyf.org.

And again on Monday, the Ventura Land Trust will host a volunteer community gardening event as part of the King Day of Service holiday. The public is invited to help plant native vegetation near the “Welcome to Ventura” sign along the Ventura-Ojai bike path. A kiosk will be set up at the Main Street Bridge near downtown Ventura. Information: www.venturalandtrust.org/events.

Guests listen to the children's choir of Camarillo’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as it performs during the “We Are One” event Saturday at the church.

In Santa Paula, the Social Concerns Committee of the Universalist Unitarian Church of Santa Paula will present a free screening Tuesday of Spike Lee’s film “BlacKkKlansman,” based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first African-American detective on the Colorado Springs Police Department who set out to infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. A discussion will follow the screening. The movie will be shown at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the church, 740 E. Main St., Santa Paula. Information: 805-525-4647; uucsp.org.

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And in the Ojai Valley, the Jewish Community of Ojai will host an encore performance on Wednesday of Lanny Kaufer’s musical multimedia presentation, “My Summer Working for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” Kaufer will share experiences he had in the Voting Rights Movement, including meeting and volunteering for King in 1965. The free presentation will start at 7 p.m. Wednesday at 530 W. El Roblar Drive, Meiners Oaks. Information: ojaitemple.org.