Colorful costumes, parade highlight Greek Independence Day in Warren

BY JORDAN COHEN

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

WARREN

Sun-drenched skies, multi-colored costumes and a parade highlighted the 10th annual observance of Greek Independence Day on Sunday.

The celebration by the city’s Greek community marks the anniversary of the successful Pan-Hellenic Uprising against the 400-year rule of the Ottoman Empire in March 1821.

“We’re proud we’re Greeks and, we’re proud we’re Americans,” said Maria Chimbidis of Warren. “This reunites us with our traditions.”

The festivities began with a parade on High Street Northeast from St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church to the city’s amphitheater. School-age girls wore festive red and white outfits called Amalia named after a queen of Greece while the boys’ costumes, the evzone, symbolized the uniforms of the Greek honor guard.

Arsenia Georgopolos, 12, a sixth-grader from Youngstown’s Akiva Academy, carried the blue and white flag of Greece. It is the second consecutive year she has been chosen as flag bearer and she said she appreciated the honor.

“I’m proud to represent (Greece) and show how you should stand up and defend it if you have the chance,” she said.

A number of adults wore sashes with “Chios” in large print. Chios is an island where, speakers said, a number of Greeks were massacred during the rebellion.

At the amphitheater where more than 150 attended the ceremony, participants raised the Greek flag and attached a memorial wreath to the flagpole. Mayor Michael O’Brien noted that the amphitheater was an apt setting because it is modeled after ancient Greek architecture.

“We also share a common dream and a commitment to democracy,” O’Brien said.

William Ahladis, the parade’s honorary marshal, said the celebration has always had special significance to him as a Greek and American. “It’s a day that exemplifies Greek traditions through the centuries,” said Ahladis, 81, a life-long Warren resident.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on VIndy.com