Westport Country Playhouse to Host Martin Luther King Day Celebration, 1/17

The tenth annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration, featuring keynote speaker Marilyn Ward Ford, the Neil Cogan Public Service Professor of Law at Quinnipiac University, will be on Sunday, January 17, at 3 p.m., at Westport Country Playhouse. Free-of-charge and open to the public, the celebration is presented by Interfaith Council of Westport and Weston, TEAM Westport, and Westport Country Playhouse. Seating is unreserved. Following the program, a reception will take place in the Playhouse lobby.

Rev. Ed Horne of United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston, chair of the Celebration's organizing committee, said, "In light of recent race-related incidents on city streets and college campuses, this year's program will lift up not only the legacy of Dr. King but also help us envision ways we might move forward to fulfill his dream of a more just and inclusive society."

As part of the afternoon program, excerpts from Dr. King's works will be read by students from Regional Center for the Arts in Trumbull. Choral music will be sung by the Staples High School Orphenians and the Serendipity Chorale.

Keynote speaker Marilyn Ward Ford has been a Quinnipiac faculty member since 1979. She teaches courses in securities regulation, business organizations, corporate finance, and Native American law. Her areas of research include civil rights, Native American land claim issues, and corporate law. Before coming to the School of Law, she worked as an attorney with a Wall Street law firm and for an integrated, worldwide energy company. At the School of Law, she is adviser to the Black Law Student Association and the Latin American Law Student Association. She also works with the Women's Law Society.

Childcare activities, including arts, crafts and book reading, will be available in the Lucille Lortel White Barn, Sheffer Studio, adjacent to the theater.

For more information, call the Westport Country Playhouse box office at (203) 227-4177, toll-free at 1-888-927-7529. Westport Country Playhouse is located at 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport.

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