The community is invited to join the city of Mesa and the Mesa-East Valley MLK Committee to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 17.

This year’s celebration theme is “Tomorrow is Today.” The festivities will begin in downtown Mesa with a parade of community groups and organizations, businesses, churches and east valley cities. The celebration will continue with a festival featuring food, vendors and fun, according to a release.

The Mesa-East Valley Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade begins at 11 a.m. on Center Street at Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The festival will take place on Macdonald just north of Main Street from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. following the parade.

Organizers of the parade are recruiting event volunteers, community groups to participate in the parade and vendors for the festival. For more information, contact diversity.info@mesaaz.gov or visit mesaaz.gov/mlkparade.

Mesa’s annual MLK celebrations were created after residents, in 1996, voted to establish a citywide holiday recognizing the leadership of Dr. King.