Apollo Theater to Relight Iconic Marquee, Honor Kiki Shepard With Walk of Fame Induction
The Harlem landmark's once-in-a-generation restoration marks a key milestone ahead of its reopening.
The Apollo will relight its iconic marquee and blade on the evening of Wednesday, June 10, 2026, marking the first major public milestone in the institution's relaunch, restoration and modernization of its famed theater, the first full-scale renovation in The Apollo's 90+ year history.
The Apollo will also posthumously induct Kiki Shepard, the beloved longtime co-host of Showtime at The Apollo, into its Walk of Fame, honoring her enduring role in bringing The Apollo's stage and spirit to millions globally.
First illuminated in 1934, The Apollo's marquee has long stood as a global symbol of the institution's embodiment of Harlem, Black artistic excellence, and American cultural innovation. Its relighting marks a new chapter for one of New York City's most beloved cultural landmarks and signals a major step forward in revitalization of The Apollo for future generations of artists, audiences, and community.
The June 10 celebration will kick-off with a private reception at The Renaissance Ballroom, followed by a public ceremony along 125th street across from its Historic Theater. The private reception will feature remarks about Kiki's legacy from Apollo Historian Billy Mitchell, her sister Von Gretchen McAlpin, family members and leaders of her KIS Foundation, as well as artists and longtime friends of Shepard's including Babe Evans, Board Member of the KIS Foundation, Starlerra Simmons, President and Founder of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Orange County, Dr. Carolyn Rowley, Founder and Executive Director of Cayenne Wellness Center, Carol Maillard, George Falson, and Dawnn Lewis. The reception will also feature a special performance from Grammy-nominated a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock.
A musical procession featuring the NYC-based drumline and dance group Marching Cobras will then lead attendees down 125th Street for the public marquee relighting, beginning with remarks from Apollo President and CEO Michelle Ebanks and Apollo Board Chair Charles Phillips.
Read more about the public relighting at https://www.apollotheater.org/light-up-two-fifth.
This transformation positions The Apollo for its next chapter as a future-facing cultural institution, expanding what is possible for artists, audiences, and the broader Harlem community. With enhanced infrastructure and greater flexibility, The Apollo will be able to launch new artistic initiatives, support more interdisciplinary and technologically ambitious work, deepen community engagement, and create new platforms for the next generation of Black creative voices.
“The relighting of our marquee represents the rekindling of one of the world's most recognizable cultural symbols and the beginning of a bold new chapter for The Apollo. We are not only restoring this institution to preserve its enduring legacy, but to ensure it remains vibrant, renewed, and ready for the artists and communities who will define its future,” said Michelle Ebanks, President and CEO of The Apollo.
The renovation represents a transformative investment in one of the nation's most iconic cultural institutions. While preserving The Apollo's defining historic character, the project modernizes artist, audience, and operational spaces to meet the scale, flexibility, accessibility, and technical demands of contemporary performance. The renewed theater introduces major enhancements including improved acoustics, upgraded production systems, restored and flexible seating configurations, increased accessibility, expanded audience amenities, and enhanced backstage spaces, significantly reducing limitations for artists and production teams while supporting a wider range of presentations, from concerts and comedy to theater, dance, galas, and immersive live experiences.
The renovation officially kicked off in 2025, and marks the largest restoration, renovation, and modernization effort in The Apollo's history. Construction on the theater—which first opened in 1914 and became The Apollo in 1934—is taking place in phases, with a phased reopening anticipated beginning in late 2026 and a public opening in spring 2027.
ABOUT KIKI SHEPHERD AND The Apollo WALK OF FAME
The June 10 celebration will also honor the life and legacy of television host and actress Kiki Shepard, whose presence became synonymous with Showtime at The Apollo and helped bring the institution's magic to audiences across the country.
For more than 15 years, Shepard co-hosted the landmark television series alongside Steve Harvey, Sinbad, Mo'Nique, Mark Curry, Rudy Rush, Rick Aviles, and Christopher Reid, helping transform The Apollo from a legendary Harlem institution into a national cultural treasure.
Shepard's charisma, warmth, and elegance made her a beloved and trusted presence for generations of viewers, welcoming both emerging talent and world-renowned performers to one of entertainment's most iconic stages.
“As we celebrate this milestone, it feels especially fitting to honor Kiki Shepard, whose grace, warmth, and cultural presence helped expand The Apollo's reach far beyond Harlem,” Ebanks added. “Kiki helped bring the energy of this iconic stage into homes across the globe, cementing her place in our institution's enduring story.”
In 2006, Kiki Shepard founded The KIS Foundation, Inc., extending her public platform into advocacy and philanthropy. Guided by the belief that “to whom much is given, much is required,” Shepard became a passionate advocate for individuals and families affected by sickle cell disease, working to increase awareness, improve access to care, and champion critical healthcare resources for the community.
The Apollo Walk of Fame recognizes the legendary artists and cultural figures whose work helped shape Black music, American popular culture, and The Apollo's enduring influence as a global cultural institution. Located in front of The Apollo's landmark Historic Theater on 125th Street, the Walk of Fame honors iconic figures including Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Prince, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, Celia Cruz, Billie Holiday, Mary J. Blige, Richard Pryor, and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. The latest Walk of Fame induction honored Clive Davis in 2025.
ABOUT The Apollo
The legendary Apollo—the performing arts center and soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, The Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world. In 2024, The Apollo opened The Apollo Stages at the Victoria, marking the first ever expansion of The Apollo in its 90-year history. In 2025, The Apollo embarked on its first major full-scale renovation and restoration of its Historic Theater to modernize and upgrade its facilities and artist and audience spaces and is expected to be completed in 2027.
With music at its core, The Apollo's programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at The Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The non-profit Apollo is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives. Multidisciplinary collaborations and programming celebrate and extend The Apollo's legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival.
Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, The Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at The Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D'Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Jazmine Sullivan, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben-Ari; and The Apollo's forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.
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