MLK Contests Deadline Is Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026; MLK Event On Monday, Jan. 19, 2026
Savannah Prigmore and Callie Phillips carried a banner in the 2018 MLK Day march. (File image).
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
[email protected]
The deadline is Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Art, Poetry and Essay Contest. The contests are part of Mercer County’s 20th Annual 2026 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration.
Mercer County residents are invited to submit visual arts and media entries, poetry entries of up to 200 words. and essay entries of up to 500 words. Visual arts and media entries will be judged on creativity and originality. All entries should reflect a unique style or expression. No written essay is required in the art contest.
Submissions should be inspired by and address the upcoming year’s theme of “Dream Forward: Love, Action, and the Legacy We Build.”
All submissions must be accompanied by a completed entry form. The addresses are bit.ly/MLKArtsContest for arts, bit.ly/MLKPoetryContest for poetry and bit.ly/MLK-EssayContest for essays.
Building on King’s passion and leadership, Mercer County residents are asked to creatively express how reflecting on the past can help build a brighter future in their own lives and in the lives of others. Entries should reflect on King’s legacy of service to explore innovative approaches to positive social change.
Mercer County’s 20th Annual 2026 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, at the Harrodsburg Baptist Church (312 South Main Street).
The breakfast starts at 10 a.m. The commemorative march begins at 11 a.m. at the back entrance of the church on Chiles Street and goes down Chiles Street, then turns right on Lexington Street then turns right on Main Street and ends in front of the church. The program starts 11:30 a.m. The facilitator is Kiara Brewer of the University of Louisville.
MLK day is also a day of service. The service project will support the community blessing boxes located around Mercer County. Those planning to attend are asked to bring a non-perishable ready to eat food item.
For more information, email Donna Linton at [email protected].
