It’s amazing the difference a few weeks can make when it comes to weather in Chicago and for that very reason, the Windy City’s Greek American community delays every year the annual Greek Independence Day parade by several weeks.

Thousands of people– young and old– from throughout the Midwest converged on Halsted Street– Greektown in Chicago for the annual Greek Independence Day parade. This year’s parade included the return of the Greek Presidential Guard, or Evzones, who were the highlight of the day.

The parade, organized annually by ENOSIS, the federation of Greek American societies of Chicago, included dozens of schools, churches, Greek regional societies which happen to be some of the oldest on the continent, as well as leaders of the Church and political establishment of the city.

Photos by John Ackerman, Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, via Facebook.