A delegation of 70 students, parents, educators and administrators from École Socrates-Démosthène in Montreal, Canada, participated in New York City’s Greek Independence Day Parade for the first time last Sunday.
The school, representing the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal, carried Greek, Canadian and a U.S. flag as a homage to their hosts, as well as sings in Greek, English and French— the three languages taught and spoken at the school in Francophone Quebec,
The last minute invitation came from organizers in New York City only a few days prior to the parade but that didn’t stop the Canadians from organizing the trip at lightning speed.
Joining almost 100 other delegations, the Canadian students marched proudly, starting on 63rd Street and up to 79th Street— a twenty-four minute march in Manhattan, following a 12-hour bus ride and a similar ride home following the parade.
“Our delegation spent 24 hours on the road to march 24 minutes but it was all so worth it,” said Georgia Tsakalis, the school’s principal.
