LIGHT UP
TWO-FIFTH

MARQUEE RELIGHTING CELEBRATION
JUNE 10, 2026
Event Opens: 8:00PM
Event Starts: 8:30PM
The Apollo's Historic Theater
253 W 125th Street New York, NY 10027
Days to Lighting Up Two-Fifth

Hey, Harlem.

You know this light. You’ve basked in its promise. We all have.  

You stood beneath it to celebrate the life of legends like the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. You were there when the King of Pop gave the world one last bow and left us forever changed. You were there when we celebrated this nation’s first Black President. This marquee has held our grief, our glory, and every hallelujah in between, because The Apollo has always been less a building and more a heartbeat. Our heartbeat.  

A year ago, for the first time since 1983, the blade went dark.

Not forever. Just long enough for us to remember how much that glow meant.

On Wednesday, June 10th, we are relighting Two-Fifth, and we need you there when it happens.

From the Hudson to the Harlem River. From 110th Street to Washington Heights. From El Barrio to Striver's Row — this invitation belongs to every single one of you. The aunties and uncles. The shop owners and the storefront pastors. The parents, the paraplegics, the people who grew up on this block and the ones who chose it. From the ones who perfected the Harlem Shake to the new generation gettin’ sturdy. Come count down with us.

We'll feel the pulse of the Marching Cobras Marching Band. We'll hear the melodies of The Apollo’s Amateur Night Set- it-Off Man, Greginald Spencer.  We also have a special guest whose name we're keeping close, because some things, you just have to show up for.

This night signals something profound: The Apollo is coming back! Bigger and Better!  Concerts, comedy, tourists, neighbors, all of it, but before the doors swing open, we celebrate together first. The way Harlem always has. Loud, proud, and full of Black love.

Before the ceremony, raise a glass with our official Restaurant partners hosting pre-relighting happy hours: The Nephew Supper Club, Chocolat Harlem, and Harlem Shake. Drink responsibly — and tell them The Apollo sent you.

You grew here. You belong here.

To Harlem, with love —Your Theater,  

The Apollo

Before the ceremony, raise a glass with our official Restaurant partners hosting pre-relighting happy hours

271 W 119th St.
New York, NY 10026

100 W. 124th St.
New York, NY 10027

2223 Frederick Douglas Blvd @120th St., NY 10026

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