MLK summit leads events commemorating day Summit leads events commemorating MLK By SUE PEASE The Daily News For those wanting to do something to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday Monday, there are a lot of options in Memphis. Starting tomorrow and lasting through the week, many local organizations are hosting events to commemorate MLK Day. Hands On Memphis, a non-profit group that for the past two years has produced a day of volunteer opportunities on the holiday, is expanding its service to include a Summit on Service. The summit is 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Christian Brothers Universitys Buckman Hall. Session speakers are from the Mid-South Minority Business Council, Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, University of Memphis, Memphis Urban League and the Black Business Association. U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. will give the keynote address during lunch. Topics will range from minority business development to racial division and non-violence, said Ken Hall, Hands On Memphis executive director. "This is the first year weve expanded into the education realm with the seminar. I think it lends itself nicely from education to engagement. Its kind of like a one-two punch," he said. "We are having many different topics, because we want something that attracts a good variety of folks." The program continues Monday with citywide service projects available for volunteers. Sign-up sheets will be available during Saturdays sessions. Hall thinks the summit and service day, along with all the other events around the city, are good ways to commemorate the late civil rights leader and also the spirit of community. "All of us have a goodly number of holidays, some of which we just dont think very much about and think of it as just another day off. One of the tag lines for the Martin Luther King day throughout our City Cares network has been "a day on, not a day off" with the idea that you are really on and thinking about the legacy of Dr. King and moving forward with civil rights and justice and a greater opportunity for everybody with whatever we choose for that day," Hall said. "Do you really want to sit at home and watch Jerry Springer or do you want to go out and maybe help somebody? I think thats what this day, more than most of our holidays, brings us to." For more information about the Summit on Service, call Hands On Memphis at 725-2132. Other holiday events include: The National Civil Rights Museum will host the annual childrens party from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The "Make a Friend Childrens Celebration" will include excerpts from Amazing Grace performed by the Black Repertory Theatre, living history tours featuring actors portraying key figures of the civil rights movement and interactive projects. The museum will also introduce a childrens CD-ROM called Kaleidoscope of Learning. It is designed to teach children about the Civil Rights movement as well as lessons in acceptance, understanding and tolerance. The fee for the Make a Friend Celebration is $5. Monday, the museum opens at 6 a.m. Admission fee, excluding special events, is $1 all day. There will be special events throughout the day including performances by Spirit, Watoto De Afrika and the Black Repertory Theatre. An extra fee is added for special events. For more information, call 521-9699. Memphis Symphony Orchestra will present its seventh annual tribute concert to honor the life and works of King at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Temple of Deliverance Church of God In Christ, 369 G.E. Patterson Ave. Tickets are $10 and $7 in advance and $15 and $10 the day of the concert. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster, 525-1515, or the MSO box office, 324-3627. Christian Brothers University will host the sixth annual Oratorical Contest at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, where fifth and sixth grade students will compete by discussing "Who is Dr. Martin Luther King?" At 12:30 p.m. Thursday, CBU will host a prayer service. Dr. Luther Ivory will be the keynote speaker. At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, CBU will host a panel discussion called "Why Cant We Wait?" Panelists are Dr. Pete Gathje, professor of religion and philosophy at CBU; Ivory, professor of religious studies at Rhodes College; Maxine Smith, former executive director of the NAACP; and the Rev. Fred Lofton, pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church. All events are open to the public and held in Spain Auditorium located in CBUs Buckman Hall. For more information, call 321-3536. Rhodes College, 2000 North Parkway, will host author, scholar and commentator Michael Eric Dyson at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Bryan Campus Life Centers McCallum Ballroom. Dysons lecture, MLK for the 21st century, is free and open to the public. He is the author of many books, including national bestseller, Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line. For more information, call 843-3875.