Greetings! As the holiday season rolls in, there is as usual no lack of events for those of us in the tristate.

Join me as the world famous Apollo Theater presents its Kwanzaa celebration, “Regeneration Night,” Saturday, Dec. 31, featuring Abdel R. Salaam’s Forces of Nature Dance Theater, with incredible celebration of family, community and culture, also presenting special guests, the SilverCloud Native-American singers, hosted by yours truly, Imhotep Gary Byrd. A matinee performance is at 2 p.m. The evening performance is at 7:30 p.m. Apollo Theater, 253 W. 125th St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-531-5305 or visit ticketmaster.com.

THEATER

The Apollo Theater presents “The First Noel,” in a limited engagement now through Sunday, Dec. 18. Apollo Theater, 253 W. 125th St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-531-5305 or visit pollotheater.org/firstnoel.

“Craig Harris’ God’s Trombones,” Thursday, Dec. 22, and Friday, Dec. 23, at 8 p.m., Mount Olivet Baptist Church, 201 Malcolm X Blvd. (Lenox Avenue) at 120th Street, Harlem. For ticket information, visit bit.ly/chgt2016.

“‘Master Harold’…and the Boys,” set in 1950s South Africa in a tea room, highlighting South Afrcan degradation of Black South Africans by the whites in power at the time. Playing at the Pershing Square Signature Center on West 42nd Street. For information, call 212-392-6398 or visit www.signaturetheatre.org.‎

“Mother Africa: My Home,” Dec. 2, 2016, through Jan. 1, 2017, The New Victory Theater, 209 W. 42nd St.

New York, N.Y. For information, call 646-223-3010 or visit www.newvictory.org.

“The Color Purple,” a Broadway, Tony winner, now featuring the return of Tony award winner Jennifer Holliday (“Dreamgirls”) Cynthia Erivo and Danielle Brooks, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45th St., New York, N.Y. For information, visit colorpurple.com.

Hamilton: An American Musical” continues to captivate audiences at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, 226 W. 46th St. For information, call 800-276-2392 or visit boxoffice.broadway.com.

“Sistas the Musical,” celebrating African-American women’s history, blending your favorite songs with a touching story of family, strength and perseverance. St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 W. 46th St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-947-3499 or visit www.broadwaybox.com/shows/sistasthe-musical.

For All My Girls: A Musical Celebrating The Everyday Diva,” Monday, Dec. 5, through Saturday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m., The Poet’s Den Theater, 309 E. 108th St., New York, N.Y. For information, visit brownpapertickets.com.

MUSIC

Darlene Love, Saturday, Dec. 17, and Friday, Dec. 23, at 8 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-997-4144 or visit ticketmaster.com.

R. Kelly Presents The Holiday Jam, Saturday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m., Kings Theatre, 1027 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. For ticket information, call 718-856-5464 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def, Wed, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m., Apollo Theater, 253 W. 125th St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-531-5305 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Gladys Knight, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, at 8 p.m., The Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, 39 Norwich Westerly Rd., Mashantucket, Conn. For information, call 800-200-2882 or visit ticketmaster.com.

The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald and Ernie Isley, Saturday, Jan. 14, at 8 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-997-4144 or visit ticketmaster.com.

The New Stylistics, The Chi-Lites and The Delfonics, Saturday, Jan. 14, at 8 p.m., St. George Theatre, 35 Hyatt Street, Staten Island, N.Y. For information, call 718-442-2900 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Gladys Knight and The Whispers, Sunday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m., New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark, N.J. For information, call 888-466-5722 or visit njpac.org.

The Isley Brothers, Sunday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m., NYCB Theatre at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Rd., Westbury, N.Y. For information, call 516-334-0800 or visit livenation.com.

Ginuwine, Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m., B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 W. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. For information, call 212-997-4144 or visit ticketmaster.com.

COMEDY

Mike Epps, Saturday, Dec. 21, at 9 p.m., The Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, 39 Norwich Westerly Rd., Mashantucket, Conn. For information, call 800-200-2882or visit ticketmaster.com.

D.L. Hughley, Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7:30 p.m., Carolines on Broadway, 1626 Broadway, New York, N.Y. For information, visit ticketmaster.com.

FILM

“Loving” is a 2016 historical drama film written and directed by Jeff Nichols. It features Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga as Richard and Mildred Loving, the plaintiffs in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia, which invalidated state laws prohibiting interracial marriage. (See movie listings) 

COMMUNITY

The New York Chapter of the National Association of Kawaida Organizations and The International

African Arts Festival will host a 50th anniversary of the Kwanzaa celebration, with the creator of Kwanzaa, Dr. Maulana Karenga, who will be giving his Annual Founder’s Message. The 2016 theme is Kwanzaa, “The Nguzo Saba and Constant Striving: Repairing, Renewing and Remaking Our World.” The program takes place on the Kwanzaa principle of ujima (collective work and responsibility), Wednesday, Dec., 28, 2016, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at JHS 258, 141 Macon St. between Marcy and Tompkins avenues in Brooklyn, N.Y. To purchase advance tickets or for further information, call 718-789-3264/638-6700 or  visit nakoinfogroup@yahoo.com. Those interested in vending should call 718-479-3264.

Hear Imhotep Gary Byrd on 107.5 WBLS-FM weekly with “Express Yourself,” Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and simulcast over WLIB 1190AM. The full show can also be heard on HD radio at WBLS-HD2 and at WBLS.com., WLIB.com and iHeartRadio. IGB is also heard on WBAI-FM 99.5 with Radio GBE: “The Global Black Experience” and “The Global Beat Experience,” Fridays 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Archived online at www.wbai.org. For bookings or to reach us about your GBEvent or for comments, email co-editor Nyerere Shannon @ nyerere1@aol.com, find us at Imhotep Gary Byrd on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @GBELIFE or call 212-592-3279.