LAKE CHARLES, La. (Jan. 11, 2018) —The Southeast Tourism Society (STS) recently honored the Martin Luther King, Jr. Festival as a 2018 Top 20 Event for the month of January.

The festivities kick off with a memorial breakfast, held at Glad Tidings Church, 3400 Texas St., on Friday, Jan. 12, at 7:30 a.m. The MLK Community Walk will start at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Lake Charles Civic Center, followed by a community clean up at the Martin Luther King Center, beginning at 3 p.m. On Sunday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m., performers from all over Louisiana come together for the Gospel Extravaganza held at Throne of Grace Fellowship, 2401 6th St. Admission is free and open to the public.

The celebration continues on Monday, Jan. 15, with the annual parade at 11 a.m., departing from the Lake Charles Civic Center. Following the parade is the Family Fun Day Celebration where you can enjoy live local and national entertainers in the R&B, Zydeco, Blues and Southern Soul genres. Don’t miss the Celebrity Gumbo/Sauce Piquant Cook-Off Contest, as well as the United Bikers Ride and hundreds of local vendors featuring arts, crafts, Creole and Cajun food.

The Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau is a member of STS, an organization that promotes travel to and within the southeastern part of the United States. The bureau nominates all area fairs, festivals and events quarterly. The STS Top 20 Events marketing program highlights the “best of the best” from submitted entries.

Events are selected from each of the following STS member states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The Top 20 Events publication is sent to over 1,600 media outlets each quarter, including web, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, AAA publications and newspapers. The combined circulation of organizations using the publication is well into the millions. Therefore, the potential media coverage of these events has made the Top 20 Events list a coveted honor.

For more information, contact the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau at (337) 436-9588, or go to www.VisitLakeCharles.org.