NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Jonathan Vann with the City of Hutchinson explained to Hutch Post the expansion of events to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. All events are at the Stringer Fine Arts Center at Hutchinson Community College.
"This year we're starting MLK weekend on Friday," Vann said. "We're beginning with a Money Mastery workshop on Friday called Money Mastery 101 and the purpose behind it is to make sure that we get as much financial information to the community as possible. That way we can increase opportunities for people whether it's that you want to plan a family, sustain your family after you're gone, purchase life insurance, medical insurance, trust annuities, all of that. If you want to buy a house, invest in rental properties, open a business or buy a business, whatever your desires and goals are with regard to finance, we've assembled a team of industry experts from Reno County that are going to come and present all of their information and their knowledge for two solid hours on Friday."
That event is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17. Saturday is an event for the whole family, as well.
"Saturday is our Lead the Change Summit," Vann said. "There's such a change that's happening here in Hutchin Reno County. It's like the landscape of leadership has just shifted and society wants to go with it and so what we want to do is to craft a workshop that's really centered around engagement and community empowerment that dials down the responsibility to the individual. What is my contribution to making sure that my community reflects the heart of community? We have empowerment workshops for men, women, boys, and girls. There will be four breakouts that are going to happen. It begins at 11 a.m. runs till about 2 p.m. Now we're also adding a vendor fair so if you are a person that crafts, if you are a baker, if you sew or whatever you do there's no registration fees but we do want to make sure that we have a conversation prior to Saturday's event."
Contact Vann at the city office if you want to be a vendor Saturday. Then Sunday is the traditional celebration.
"The community celebration begins at 2 p.m. but we've added another component," Vann said. "We're going to host a gospel concert that begins at 3:30 p.m."
Monday is a chance for both service and learning in the spirit of Dr. King.
"This is a collaborative effort with the Human Relations Office as well as Hutchinson NAACP, Hutch Community College and the United Way of Reno County plus the local health department." Vann said. "What we're going to be doing on Monday is crafting care packages that will be distributed later on in the week going to our unhoused population. At the same time we're also using this time of gathering as a open community forum where we're engaging different generations about topics and developments that we want to see happen here in Hutchinson and Reno County. So it is open to everyone there is lunch, lunch is going to be served towards the end of the event, but it's a time of building but also connecting."
Call Vann if you have any questions. His number is (620) 694-2608.