Join us at the Museum for our annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration on Monday, January 20, 2025, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. This family friendly event features art making, live musical performances, poetry, and more! Admission is free for all, and there is free parking in our lot and in the Lehigh County lot behind the Museum on Penn Street between Court and Linden Streets.

11 a.m.-4 p.m.: Art making in the Crayola Classroom (2nd floor)

11:30 a.m.: Joyful Voices Community Choir in Rodale Classroom (2nd floor)

Kirk Whalum of the Philly Clef Club, photo by Tim Koen

noon-4 p.m.: Poetry performances on the hour in Trexler Gallery (1st floor), see schedule below.

12:30 p.m.: Storytelling for youngsters in Rodale Classroom (2nd floor)

1-2 p.m.: Musical performance by Bev Conklin (lower level)

3 p.m.: Jazz performance by the Philadelphia Clef Club Philharmonic (lower level)

 

POETRY READINGS ON THE HOUR
Trexler Gallery (1st floor)

noon: Michael Freeman
Michael Freeman is
an abstract and performance artist with a vision impairment known as tunnel vision. His paintings primarily feature tactile components and texture so they can be felt by others with visual impairments.

1 p.m.: Jinx Leonard
Jinx Leonard is a Black trans woman who writes poems and short stories about the high of transitioning, dating while trans, and the beauty of self love with humor, rawness, and a sense of self.

2 p.m.: Lisbeth Brito
Lisbeth Brito is an Afro-Latinx poet, mental-health professional, and the host of “Spilled Ink: Spoken Word” at the Inkwell in Allentown. Her poems focus on raw emotions that stem from trauma, identity, relationships, and loss.

3 p.m.: Ikea Clinton
Ikea “Kay Cee” Clinton is an author, empathist, and domestic-violence-awareness advocate. She published her first book, Breaking the Silence, in 2020 and has always leaned on poetry for self-expression.

4 p.m.: Latrice Young
Latrice is a multifaceted choreopoet, global storyteller, and artrepreneur. After earning a B.A. in creative writing/poetry from Purdue University in 2018, she founded Dunique LLC in 2019. She later pursued an MFA in performance creation at Moravian University and Touchstone Theatre, focusing on choreopoems, ritual, and healing. She has facilitated workshops and performed original works, including her piece “Ain’t I/Ain’t It/Ain’t We” at Touchstone Theatre’s 2023 Fresh Voices showcase. As coexecutive leader of the Naptown African American Theatre Collective, she celebrates Black culture and continues to support local arts through various volunteer and creative endeavors.

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The Museum’s MLK Jr. Day Celebration is generously supported by the Downtown Allentown Community Development Initiative.