CASSOPOLIS — Cassopolis is planning to go all out for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Local organization League for Encouraging Empowerment has planned a full day of events to celebrate the village’s 20th annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

“It’s a tradition here,” said MLK program coordinator Carmen Peake of the celebration. “It’s something the people of Cassopolis get excited about and take pride in.”

The day will begin with a breakfast at 9 a.m. at the Church of Cassopolis, 520 Pearl St., Cassopolis. At the breakfast, local children will compete in an annual essay contest where they wrote about famous African Americans. Village council member Cynthia Ash will also speak at the breakfast.

The next item on the agenda will be a freedom march, which has taken place in Cassopolis every year for the 20 years the village has been celebrating MLK Day.

For the march people will meet at 11 a.m. on Rowland Street by the U.S. Post Office. From there, they will march to the historic courthouse in Cassopolis.

After that, a community service event in the form of a food pantry distribution will take place at noon at the Church of Cassopolis.

From 2 to 4 p.m., an open door youth event will be hosted at the Church of Cassopolis. Activities for the children will include apple pie baking, a martial arts demonstration, basketball and trivia. The children will also receive an educational lesson about Martin Luther King Jr.

The youth event is one of the newest additions to Cassopolis’ MLK Day celebration, but it may be one of the most important parts, Peake said.

“A lot of kids don’t even know about the Dr. King or what he stood for. We want to make sure that the children are informed and can keep the spirit of the day alive,” Peake said. “The event is open to kids of all colors, because that is what Martin Luther King Jr.  was all about, promoting unity.”

At 6 p.m. a 20th anniversary dinner will be hosted, with fried chicken, sweet potatoes and more being served. Tickets for the dinner are $10.

The final event will take place at 7 p.m. United Presbyterian Church, 209 E. State St., Cassopolis. A gospel program will take place at that time. Two speakers, lawyer Edwin Johnson and accountant William Lee Jr. will take the stage at the gospel program, and children will perform a skit.

Though Peake acknowledged that the full day of activities Monday may seem like a lot to those who have the day off for the holiday, she said she wanted to remind people that MLK Day is a “day on, not a day off.”

“We should remember Martin Luther King and why we have the day off,” she said. “[MLK] was all about community, so we should be out in the community.”

All events are free with the exception of the dinner, though Peake said donations will be accepted at the breakfast.