Harlem shines
with holiday lights
PHOTO COURTESY OF 125TH STREET BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Harlem will shine a little brighter this holiday
season when the uptown neighborhood’s
26th annual holiday lights are plugged in
Thursday, Nov. 20.
Called “Harlem Light It Up,” a parade of lights
will march down 125th Street from Morningside Avenue
and on with plenty of more festive fun planned
throughout the day.
Manhattan Community Boards 9 and 10 selected
three grand marshals for that bright parade:
Korey Wise — One of the exonerated “Central
Park Five,” who is now known from the Netfl ix series
“When They See Us.” Wise is also a public speaker
and social justice activist, who has risen to prominence
since he and four others were acquitted and released
from prison for a crime that they did not commit.
Laiona Michelle — An actor, singer, and writer who
made her Broadway debut in the 2015 musical “Amazing
Grace,” who recently broke box-offi ce records at
the George Street Playhouse with her performance as
Nina Simone, in “Little Girl Blue” (which she wrote
and starred in). She’s also now writing on a new musical
headed for Broadway in 2020, based on the life of
Nelson Mandela.
Leah Abraham — An Ethiopian-American entrepreneur
who brings “a dynamic multi-cultural foundation
to everything she does,” organizers say, and has
been a driving force to bring successful business into
the Harlem community. Abraham has found numerous
ways to give back to the neighborhood through her
passionate commitment to the business she has helped
establish, Settepani Restaurant.
This year’s Parade of Lights will have a caravan of 10
fl oats – each sponsored by a Harlem community organization,
local political leaders, community boards, as
well as members of the local businesses community.
“The participation this year has hit a new high,” said
Barbara Askins, CEO of the 125th Business Improvement
District. “The historic community of Harlem deserves
the kind of attention that is often relegated to
the downtown communities.”
The light parade’s rain date is Monday, Nov. 25.
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