Harlem Holiday Lights 2023
Celebrating 30 Years
The holiday energy in Harlem is bigger and brighter than ever this year as the 125th Street Business
Improvement District (BID), which has been revitalizing Harlem’s cultural scene by promoting the arts,
entertainment, dining, and business community for over 30 years, kicks off the holiday season with the 30th
anniversary of Harlem Holiday Lights. Harlem Holiday Lights is a free public event happening on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 (rain date on November 21, 2023) featuring New York City’s only parade of lights beginning at 6 p.m.
The theme for this year’s Harlem Holiday Lights focuses on “Celebrating Our Youth,” featuring two special Grand
Marshals including Stephanie Pacheco, NYS Youth Poet Laureate and member of the 2022 NYC Youth Slam
Team, and Grand Marshal Dr. Lena Green, DSW, LCSW, CLC, Executive Director of HOPE Center Harlem.
Grand Marshals
Dr. Lena L. Green currently serves as the executive director of the HOPE Center, a community based mental health clinic in Harlem, NYC connected to the historic First Corinthian Baptist Church (FCBC). Dr. Green received the Jospeh R. Biden Presidential Service and Lifetime Achievement Award in September 2023, the National Association of Social Workers, New York City Chapter’s (NASW-NYC) Social Work I.M.P.A.C.T. Award in 2019. The award, which is the chapter’s highest honor, is presented to a social worker who “exemplifies the commitment to social justice, equity, empowerment, and civil rights, through their work, research, advocacy, practice, embodiment of the social work profession, and their dedication to the communities and individuals they serve.”
STEPHANIE PACHECO is the 2023 New York City Youth Poet Laureate and the Inaugural New York State Youth Poet Laureate. She was also a member of the 2022 New York City Youth Slam Team, with Urban Word NYC. Hailing from The Bronx, she has been a leading organizer and strategist with several activist organizations including the Healing Centered Schools Task Force, working to mobilize youth across the city against educational injustice. She is a recipient of the 2021 Princeton Prize in Race Relations. Her advocacy and poetry have been highlighted by The New York Times, The Today Show, NPR, The Daily News, CBS, and other publications. She has spoken and performed in several spaces such as The Schomburg Center, The Apollo Theater, The Barclays Center, The New York Public Library, TedXCUNY, and more.
Each holiday season, 125th Street is decorated with what seems like an endless amount of lights. Residents of Harlem and visitors from other New York City neighborhoods can stroll down 125th Street to enjoy the lights while doing their holiday shopping and supporting businesses in Harlem.
Caravan of Lights
What is the Caravan of Lights
The Caravan of Lights, featuring lighted floats from community organizations and sponsors will travel on 125th Street and throughout Harlem spreading holiday cheer.
Where can I see the Caravan of Lights
The Caravan of Lights departs from 125th Street and Broadway at 6:00 pm ET on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 and continues down the corridor to Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd, where it will continue traversing around the Harlem community concluding at Morningside Avenue.
How can I participate in Caravan of Lights
Business owners and community residents along the route will add to the festive atmosphere of the evening, by decorating their properties in appropriate holiday decor. The Caravan’s will fill the route with music and holiday cheer that is infectious.