BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University will host the 18th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday Gospel Festival Celebration on Monday, Jan. 21, from 3-9 p.m. in Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall (1210 Park St., Bloomington).
Free and open to the public, the gospel festival honors the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Also honoring King is the Fellowship Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 19. See all MLK events at IWU.
Founded by the United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington and Normal, a not-for-profit organization, and cosponsored by Illinois Wesleyan, the gospel festival was launched in 1991 by Corine G. Sims, executive director of the United Community Gospel Singers as a way to continue King’s legacy. This year numerous choirs, soloists, singers and dancers such as Malcolm Williams and the Voices of Great Faith, Gayles Memorial Mass Choir and the Fantastic Jones Family will pay tribute to Sims, who passed away on Aug. 3, 2007.