On April 26, on a sunny and beautiful day reminiscent of Greece, more than 50,000 Greek-Americans and their friends, led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Archbishop Demetrios of America, filed up Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue for the annual Greek parade, commemorating the 187th Anniversary of the Greek Declaration of Independence (March 25th, 1821) and also paying tribute to the Greek community’s accomplishments and contribution to the American society.
Illinois Treasurer and senatorial hopeful Alexi Giannoulias, Greek Minister of Defense Evangelos Meimarakis (Grand Marshals), a numerous delegation of the Greek Parliament, New York State Senator Dean Skellos, who rumors have running for New York governor in the near future, Rhode Island State Senator Lou Raptakis, who rumors have running for Lieutenant Governor or Secretary of State, New York Assemblyman Mike Gianaris, the American born Greek singing sensation Kalomoira, the famous Tony Orlando (Grand Marshal), one of New York’s most powerful people John Catsimatides, to mention just a few, joined tens of thousands of other Greeks who as they did in their youth, displayed the pride of their heritage in abundance.
The annual Greek Independence Day Parade has become a New York City tradition. It started as early as 1938 and since 1951 the City has allocated it Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, an honor reserved for only a handful of other ethnic groups. For the last three years it has been broadcast live on Channel 9 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm with anchors our fellow Greek Ernie Anastos with Rosanna Scotto.
The biggest event of New York’s Greek community, the parade is organized by the Federation of Hellenic Societies with John Catsimatidis as Parade Chairman and Tasos Manessis, Phil Christopher, Nick Katsoris and Matthew Mirones as Co-Chairmen.
The Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York represents a large number of Greek societies, fraternities and local organizations. It is the largest and the oldest (founded in 1937) federation in America. Its declared mission is to promote and preserve the Greek-American heritage and administer philanthropic endeavors. Since its inception, the Federation has distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars for medical aid, scholarships, disaster relief, and other charitable causes in North America and Greece.
