From applause from windows and balconies and passionate Youtube serenades, to gleeful donations and supply drives, Americans are anxious to pay homage to those battling on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic: healthcare and essential workers and first responders.

Now, Houstonians can join a nationwide salute to our heroes during an event dubbed #LightItBlue.

On Thursday, April 9, at 8 pm, major city buildings and venues around Houston will be lit blue to pay homage to the world’s essential workers and first responders. Houston joins a host of major cities across the nation participating in the event.

More than 150 sporting and entertainment venues, landmarks and historic buildings, and civic and arts organizations from coast to coast will transform into “beacons of blue,” according to event organizers. Instantly familiar structures such as New York City’s One World Trade Center, Los Angeles’ Forum, and Chicago’s Soldier Field will be awash in the color.

Here are the buildings in Houston participating in the #LightItBlue event:

• City Hall
• Highway 59 bridges
• George R. Brown Convention Center
• Partnership Tower
• BBVA Stadium
• Minute Maid Park
• Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza
• NRG Stadium
• Rice Stadium
• Reckling Park
• TDECU Stadium
• Theater District
• Toyota Center

Meanwhile, Houstonians are encouraged to wear blue, decorate windows and doorways with blue, and share their own images or messages to essential workers with the hashtag #LightItBlue. Those interested can follow the movement on Twitter using @LightItBlue.

Dallas is also taking part in the national event, with the following institutions being lit in tribute:

• AT&T Headquarters
• Bank of America Plaza
• One Arts Plaza
• Dallas Skyline
• American Airlines Center
• Cotton Bowl Stadium
• Omni Dallas Hotel
• FC Dallas Soccer Club
• Dallas Sports Commission

The #LightItBlue event originated in the United Kingdom as a volunteer #MakeItBlue movement and has since spread across the Atlantic. “We’ve been so inspired over the past few weeks by the cheers of our neighbors around the world — and we wanted to bring this collective gratitude to an even bigger stage here in the U.S.,” said lead organizer of the movement, Joe Zenas, CEO at Thinkwell Group, a design and production agency.

“This is a heartfelt ‘thank you’ from those of us at home to those of us who are going to work each day to keep our country going.”