With the passing of country icon Dolly Parton on August 25 at 80 from cancer, the world lost a singular voice of the ages, a blessed humanitarian and the composer of over 3,000 songs that defied categorization. Her songs have been covered by artists across generations and genres, from Tina Turner and Merle Haggard to Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé and Lil Nas X. But, by far, the biggest rendition was when Whitney Houston—born in Newark—did “I Will Always Love You.”

Julien’s Auctions—the leading pop-culture auction house—will hold “The Whitney E. Houston Legacy Foundation 2026 Auction” in Los Angeles on August 11 to benefit the Houston estate’s foundation.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame at American Dream on Route 3 in East Rutherford will host an event celebrating 40 years of 2013 NJHOF inductee Whitney Houston on February 7.

Newark’s own Whitney Houston [1963-2012] will be honored yet again and rightly so at Town Hall in New York City in February. “The Voice Of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration” is being billed as hearing Whitney’s voice “as never heard before [in] an Immersive Visual Experience.”

The Garden State Parkway has been known for naming its service areas for icons of the state. Among the honorees so far are novelists Toni Morrison and Judy Blume, Sinatra, Latin Legend Celia Cruz, Jon Bon Jovi, Larry Doby (the first Black baseball player to play for the American League), news anchor Connie Chung and actor James Gandolfini. Now, the Vauxhall Service Area in Union will forever be known as the Whitney Houston Service Area.

This Friday, December 23, Sony Pictures is releasing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” the long-anticipated Whitney Houston movie.