Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations are canceled next year in Volusia County due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Events in West Volusia typically include an annual parade in DeLand, a breakfast at Stetson University, and a breakfast and art contest at The Center at Deltona.
Events are typically held on and around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which will be on Jan. 18 in 2021.
But, in order to keep the community safe, the local chapters of the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee had to make the hard decision of putting off celebrations for now.
From Nov. 6 to Nov. 13, Volusia County reported 678 new cases of COVID-19, the highest number of new cases in a week since August.
Mario Davis, chairman of the MLK Jr. Celebration Committee, DeLand chapter, said it wasn’t an easy decision to make, but the best one for the community.
“We would also encourage others to not have events to commemorate Dr. King, but instead depend on social media and digital events across the nation,” he said.
