Hotel-ticket packages still available for Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial dedication

By Mary Forgione

Aug. 12, 2011 12 AM PT

Los Angeles Times Daily Travel & Deal blogger

Forty-eight years ago Martin Luther King Jr. marched on Washington, D.C., and delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Hundreds of thousands heard his words of hope for change the civil rights movement could bring.

Now King will be remembered not far from where he spoke. President Obama, civil rights luminaries and activists and others will dedicate the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at 11 a.m. Aug. 28 on the anniversary of the speech. The memorial features a stone sculpture of King and a granite wall with inscriptions from his speeches and near the Tidal Basin. (Check out these renderings and photos of the memorial.)

Anyone can attend the dedication for free but tickets allow visitors to stand closer to the action in an official viewing area in West Potomac Park. “People with tickets will be able to see the podium and not just be there to see it on a video screen,” says Kate Gibbs of Destination DC.

Tickets were earlier distributed to the public lottery-style and are no longer available, but a number of D.C. area hotels are offering tickets with a room package. Here are some examples for one- or two-night stays booked through Destination DC that still have availability:

--The Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport’s dedication package comes with two tickets, two Metro passes for the day and breakfast for $166 including tax for the night of Aug. 27.

--Four Points by Sheraton in downtown D.C. has a two-night package starting at $490 including tax (for both nights) that comes with two tickets.

But there’s no need to wait until the dedication to see the new $120 million memorial. It opens to the public at 11 a.m. on Aug. 22 and will remain open at various times through Aug. 25 before the ceremony.

There’s plenty going on throughout the week related to King’s legacy and the memorial. Check out events at the Washington DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation and Destination DC.