Uptown Manhattan will be glowing with good cheer Monday when the annual Harlem Holiday Lights event celebrates its 25th anniversary with a parade, music, children’s activities and health fairs.
Stretching along 125th St. from Fifth to Twelfth Aves., the festive lighting is a longstanding neighborhood tradition meant to brighten streets and foster holiday spirit among Harlemites, visitors and area businesses.
“When we first started this we were doing it like everybody else — just putting up the lights,” said Barbara Askins, president and CEO of the 125th Street BID.
“And then we saw it was a great opportunity to galvanize the community to come together.”
Longtime business owner Daniel (Dapper Dan) Day — the fashion designer and haberdasher whose clientele has included entertainers such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Bruno Mars, and Tracee Ellis Ross — is the grand marshal for the lighting event and parade.
This year’s event starts at 3 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m., and will feature dozens of neighborhood BID merchants offering in-store activities and promotions for the event.
Other activities include a Whole Foods-sponsored music performance, a CVS Trivia Competition; the Vy Higginsen’s Sing Harlem Choir from the Mama Foundation; mini-hair consultations by Beleza Natural; and an ugly sweater contest presented by the College of New Rochelle’s Rosa Parks Campus.
The neighborhood United House of Prayer for All People church has also offered to provide a choir for the lighting ceremony.
For information on the Harlem Holiday Lights and updates on activities, visit www.harlemlightitup.com. To learn more about the 125th Street BID and its “Harlem Happenings” app, visit www.125thstreet.nyc; email bid125thst@aol.com or call (212) 662-8999.
