Portage Mayor James Snyder announced Friday that he signed an executive order for city workers to recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a federal holiday in Portage.

Snyder, who could not be reached for comment, also called on the city council to pass an ordinance permanently adding the day to the city’s list of holidays.

“For too long, Portage has not recognized the federal holiday recognizing the diversity and the strength of American on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day,” Snyder wrote in a news release.

The Morning Bishop Theatre Playhouse, Inc.’s will host the 12th Annual MLK Community Summit, A Day of Service from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at the Lake Street Theatre, 394 S. Lake St. Invited guest speakers include U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Gary, Senator Eddie Melton and Mayor Karen Freeman Wilson.

The summit is an opportunity for people to come together to honor the contributions of Dr. King by performing some community service projects. This year’s theme is a quote from the late Dr. King: “The time is always right to do what is right.” Activities will include making sandwiches for the homeless, baking sweets for children at a shelter, creating cards for the sick, visiting nursing homes, breaking ground for a community garden, painting, creating the MLK Rock Garden (Path of Dreams), organizing donations and supplies, and making first aid kits. There will also be parent empowerment workshops on internet safety for youth and children, bullying prevention and how to have effective parent teacher conferences, community exercise challenges, dance and yoga demonstrations throughout the day. To register for this event, please email theatreofpurpose@gmail.com and indicate the time you are able to serve.

Indiana University Northwest’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs invites the campus community and general public to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Black History Month with three events. All programs will be held in the Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium, Savannah Center on campus, 3400 Broadway, Gary. “MLK and the Strength of Shared Dreams,” with Emmy award-winning actor and diversity trainer Ron Jones, will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday; “Life and Times Bessie Coleman: The First African American Female Pilot,” an interactive one-woman show by her great-niece, Gigi Coleman, will be featured at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 5; “Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture,” with Indiana native and Harvard University graduate, Judge Robert Wilkins, a U.S. Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will be at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 12. More information on all events is at 219-980-6596 or at kevsbrya@iun.edu.

Purdue University Northwest will honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. in two events on its Westville and Hammond campuses. Michigan City native, Theo Williams, an associate professor of communications at Bethel College and an ordained minister, will deliver the keynote presentation at both celebrations. A Community Celebration Breakfast will be held from 8:30-10 a.m. Monday in the James B. Dworkin Student Services and Activities Complex, Great Hall, on the Westville Campus, 1401 S. US 41. Doors open at 8 a.m. A program honoring Dr. King will take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday in the Student Union and Library, Alumni Hall, on the Hammond Campus, 2233 173rd St. Doors open at 10 a.m. A reception will be held following Williams’ speech. The events are free and open to the public. Reservations are required at www.pnw.edu/MLK-celebration.

Valparaiso University will host the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration with the theme of “What Everybody Ought to Know,” featuring a keynote address by Eddie S. Glaude Jr. from 2 to 3 p.m. Monday in the Chapel of the Resurrection, 1700 Chapel Drive. Glaude is the chair of the Center for African-American Studies and the William S. Tod Professor of Religion and African-American Studies at Princeton University.

The community can attend a candlelight march to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday. Participants are to meet at 6:30 a.m. in the Hammond City Hall parking lot, 5925 Calumet Ave. The group will walk to the Hammond Civic Center, 5825 S. Sohl Ave. beginning at 6:45 a.m. Those attending are asked to bring their own flashlights or candles. A community commemoration will be held at the Hammond Civic Center immediately following the march. The annual Legacy Awards will be presented at the ceremony. More information is at 219-853-6358, ext. 2, or at www.gohammond.com.

About 80 attorneys from various Northwest Indiana bar associations will provide brief legal consultations at no cost to the general public at eight locations on the Martin Luther King Holiday, Monday. Talk to a Lawyer Today, is an annual public service program of the Indiana State Bar Association and the Indiana Supreme Court’s regional pro bono attorney project: NWI Indiana Volunteer Lawyers, Inc. Legal assistance will be available at the following times and locations: Jasper County Community Services from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 967 E. Leopold, Rensselaer; Newton County Public Library from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 205 S. West St., Morocco; Tabernacle Baptist Church from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 3715 Butternut, East Chicago; New Mount Moriah Baptist Church from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1917 Carolina St., Gary; Lake Station/New Chicago Public Library from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 2400 Central Ave., Lake Station; Lowell Public Library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1505 E. Commercial Ave., Lowell; Valparaiso Public Library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 103 E. Jefferson St., Valparaiso; and Portage Township Trustee’s Office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3484 Airport Road, Portage. More information is with Stephanie Wicke at 219-942-3404 or at probono@hobartlaw. net.