ON THE AGENDA

Meetings

Decatur City Commission will meet Jan. 2 and Jan. 16 at City Hall, 509 North McDonough St., at 7:30 p.m. Visit decaturga.com for more.

Old Fourth Ward Business Association will meet Jan. 24, 6 p.m. at Dad’s Garage, 569 Ezzard St. Visit ow4ba. com for more.

Midtown Alliance will hold its annual meeting on Feb. 13, 7 a.m. at the Fox Theatre with keynote by transportation expert Janette Sadik-Khan. Tickets are available now at midtownatl.com.

NEWS

Emory University, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta will officially become part of the City of Atlanta on Jan. 1. The Atlanta City Council approved the annexation at its December meeting.

A second implosion at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 20 took down Gate B and the East Wall there were still standing after the initial implosion on Nov. 20. Cleanup is underway and expected to be completed by winter’s end.

The Atlanta City Council has incorporated the Buckhead master plan, branded as “BUCKHEAD REdeFINED,” into the city’s official development plan after a vote last month.

The city has adopted the eCitation device, a wireless mobile application that allows Atlanta Police officers to create, print and electronically transmit traffic citations to the Atlanta Municipal Court.

By Collin Kelley

There will be a multitude of events to mark the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday on Jan. 15. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis. Be sure to visit AtlantaINtownPaper.com for even more events related to the holiday.

The King Center

The annual commemorative service will take place on Monday, Jan. 15, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Horizon Sanctuary at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The guest speakers for the event had not been announced at press time. The King Center will also host the annual “Salute To Greatness” gala on Jan. 13 at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown. For more information, visit TheKingCenter.org.

The MLK March & Rally

The King Day March, also set for Monday, Jan. 15, will begin at 1:45 p.m. The march will begin at Peachtree Street and Baker Street before heading south on Peachtree to

Auburn Avenue and on to Jackson Street. Leading up to the event, the MLK March Committee will observe King Week from Jan. 7 to 15 with a series of worship services, youth conference and more. See the full schedule at mlkmarchcommittee.com.

Children’s Museum of Atlanta

The Downtown museum will mark the King Holiday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with events including a reader’s theater, science show, storytime, art studio and build it lab. Visit childrensmuseumofatlanta.org for full details.

MLK Day 5K

The annual walk/run will be held Jan. 15 starting at 8 a.m. in Piedmont Park with the start and finish at 10th Street near Park Tavern. The USATF certified race course and Peachtree Road Race qualifier will be run on grass, road, gravel, wooden bridge and dirt paths through the park. There will also be a 3.1-mile drumline all along the race course. To register and for more information, visit mlkday5k.com.

Atlanta History Center

There will be free admission to the Atlanta History Center and the Margaret Mitchell House at Atlanta History Center Midtown in honor of Martin Luther King Day, and featuring special programming that highlights the contributions of African-Americans in Atlanta. This year features a special film

Fitness and fellowship at MLK Day 5K Drum Run

By Clare S. Richie

This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, don’t sleep in. Lace up your running shoes and join more than 2,000 Atlantans at the MLK Day 5K Drum Run in Piedmont Park. The walk/run, which starts and finishes near Park Tavern across 10th Street from Grady High School, has a motivating vibe from more than 200 drummers and is a Peachtree Road Race qualifier. Music starts at 8 a.m. with the 5K line-up at 8:45 a.m. and a roaring post-race party.

“It’s about inspiring fitness and fellowship. People want to do something positive to celebrate this holiday,” said race co-founder Chip Owens. “With the day off from work and school, this is a perfect opportunity to bring the community together and great jump start to the New Year.”

The idea sprang from Owens’ Peachtree Road Boot Camp, which always drew its largest crowd on MLK Day. Owens was surprised to learn there was no other race that day.

“I grew up in Atlanta and ran my first Peachtree Road Race in 1977. There’s a race for everything – Fourth of July, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day – we can go on and on. But there was no MLK race,” Owens reflected.

So, Owens and Herman Mannings III co-founded the race in 2012 with 800 participants and 20 drummers at the finish line. This year, the 200-plus student drumline promise to propel runners forward.

The idea for including drums came to Owens when he saw Grady High School student drummers, led by their band director Brian Cook, perform on the Atlanta BeltLine.

Cook and his Grady student drummers have participated in the race since the beginning.

The drums were fitting “because Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a drum major for justice and peace,” Mannings III said. Once word spread that the race provided a donation to band booster clubs, the race soon boasted drummers from Atlanta Public Schools, Gwinnett and DeKalb.

“Grady expects to have 40 kids come out this year. I want the community to know that we are here to support the neighborhood. The kids love it because they can mingle and play with other drumlines,” Cook said. He’ll use the race funds to buy more equipment, like drumheads that cost $50 a piece.

Drummers aren’t the only ones with whom Owens and Mannings III share race proceeds. Each approved “team,” such as a school, church or community organization, receives $5 per registrant linked to their team.

“In other words, if 100 people register under Team X, we will send a check for $500 to Team X’s organization,” Owens explained. “Turner bought 100 registrations in one phone call. And $500 went to Back on My Feet,” a nonprofit that helps homeless Atlantans through running and support services.

Rather than pay thousands of dollars for an email list to promote the MLK Day 5K Drum Run, Owens generates interest through this innovative fundraising model. Since 2012, the race has redistributed $25,000 to “teams” and $20,000 to school drum boosters clubs.

The race also provides volunteer opportunities for individuals and community screening and conversation about “A Trek to the River’s Edge” with the filmmaker and student leaders of the Atlanta Student Movement at 1 p.m. and at 3 p.m. For the full schedule of events and activities, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.

Alliance Theater