MLK Day closures and events
City of Hickory offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 15, in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. City of Hickory offices will reopen Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 8:30 a.m.
Other City department closings and/or schedule updates:
Public Services
Solid Waste collection services will operate on a normal schedule.
Hickory Public Library
Hickory Public Library, the Patrick Beaver Memorial main facility and the Ridgeview Branch, will be closed Monday, Jan. 15
Parks, Recreation & Sports Tourism
The Administrative Offices and all City of Hickory recreation centers will be closed Monday, Jan. 15. Parks are open 365 days a year.
MLK Day events in Hickory:
Lenoir-Rhyne University’s offices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Multicultural Affairs will sponsor and host the university’s second annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Prayer Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 15, from 8:30-10:30 a.m., in the Cromer Center on the Hickory campus. The keynote for the event is Jane Elliott, an internationally known teacher, lecturer, diversity trainer, and recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence. She is known for her “blue eyes/brown eyes” exercise, which she first conducted with her third-grade class on April 5, 1969. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Space is limited, so registration is strongly encouraged at https://calendar.lr.edu/event/2nd-annual-mlk-prayer-breakfast.
At 10:30 a.m., after the breakfast concludes, participants may begin lining up to participate in the annual march organized and sponsored by the Hickory NAACP. The march will set off from P.E. Monroe Auditorium on the LR campus at 11 a.m. and make its way through Hickory to Ridgeview Recreation Center. The march will be led by Hickory High’s drumline and escorted by Hickory Police officers along a predetermined route. At the conclusion of the march, there will be a program inside the recreation center around noon to highlight the importance of economic justice and celebrate the Hickory High football team's win of the NCHSAA 3A Championship. Refreshments will be served after the program.
Later this month, Appalachian State University’s Office of Diversity will host a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration Lunch, Conversation & Book Signing with Dr. William T. Lewis Sr. The event will take place on Thursday, Jan. 25, from 12-1:30 p.m., in the atrium at the App State Hickory Campus. Lewis is the award-winning author of “Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Pie” and a nationally recognized diversity and inclusion thought leader, entrepreneur, and an advisor and consultant to university presidents and small to mid-size business leaders. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Attendees are asked to register online at https://engage.appstate.edu/event/9666880.