FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Adam Mistick
Creative Director
412.363.3000 x317
adam@kelly-strayhorn.org
Local Organizations Focus on The Future
for 7th Annual
East Liberty Celebrates MLK
PITTSBURGH, PA (December 28, 2015) Kelly Strayhorn Theater is proud to present the seventh annual East Liberty Celebrates MLK on Monday, January 18, 2016 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Open to the community, admission is Pay What Makes You Happy and includes family-friendly activities and inspiring performances.
Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) celebrates the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while highlighting the value and strength of individuals and the community of East Liberty as we imagine our future. This year’s theme, With Audacious Faith in Our Future—East Liberty Looking Forward, provides a framework for reflection, conversation and action surrounding the holiday.
As East Liberty faces change around every corner, Dr. King’s words remind us that “we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future.” East Liberty Celebrates MLK reflects on and highlights positive impacts within our community throughout the day with activities and performances.
ACTIVITIES & PERFORMANCES
This year, East Liberty Celebrates MLK is also the umbrella for a weekend-long series of events throughout the East End, presented by Kelly Strayhorn Theater in collaboration with Repair the World: Pittsburgh, Union Project, East End Cooperative Ministry, Assemble, 412 Food Rescue, and North Way Christian Community.
Friday, January 15
The series begins with Turn the Tables: Shabbat Dinner, hosted by Repair the World: Pittsburgh. Turn the Tables challenges communities to recognize the signs of inequality all around them and identify paths towards a future where race no longer determines access to justice.
Sunday, January 17
On Sunday, Repair the World hosts a Listening Party from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., where community members can discuss and reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s speeches in the context of some of today's most strained societal relationships.
Monday, January 18
Cook Breakfast with 412 Food Rescue and Assemble at Repair the World: Pittsburgh from 9-11 a.m.
At noon, join the Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s seventh annual East Liberty Celebrates MLK event. Enjoy MLK-themed activities, plus performances by Soundwaves steelband other local groups. This family-friendly celebration continues until 4 p.m.
Wrapping up the weekend, Union Project hosts their
14th Annual Dr. MLK, Jr. Day Celebration with discussions, group arts activities and dinner. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Dinner is served at 5 p.m.
ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER
Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) uses the arts as a catalyst for community revitalization, and plays a key role in the transformation of East Liberty and nearby neighborhoods. In its 14th year as an organization, and eighth season of original programming, KST continues to demonstrate its commitment to Pittsburgh artists and audiences, supporting the presentation of risk-taking new work by emerging artists and arts organizations. KST operates two professionally-equipped venues along the Penn Avenue arts corridor. The historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater (formerly the Regent Theatre, 1914) is a 350-seat multi-arts venue, and the last survivor of East Liberty’s nine original theaters. Noted Pittsburghers and KST namesakes Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn are among the 80 area artists honored in the theater’s Gallery of Stars. Just blocks away, KST’s Alloy Studios play host to intimate performance events and provide creative space for artist residencies, Alloy School dance classes, and performance rehearsals, as well as community art and music programs.
Major funding for KST Presents is provided by The Heinz Endowments, Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Benter Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and Allegheny Regional Asset District.
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