A public meeting of the Federation Parade Committee for the Greek Independence Day Parade 2026 in New York was held at the Stathakion Center on November 20, chaired by Parade Chairman Lou Katsos.
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Mr. Katsos opened the meeting by thanking and congratulating all members for their participation across the various committees, noting their professionalism and the strong, unified spirit in which everyone has been working.
Having returned from Greece just two days earlier, he shared highlights from his recent activities there. These included the sold out joint EMBCA–Federation Greek Independence Day Parade 2026 in New York event, “Bridging Revolutions: Hellas and America,” hosted at the Demos Center of the American College of Greece in Plaka, which received extensive press coverage and praise. He also described his separate meetings with Professor N. Pollalis, President of Athens College, and Dr. Edward C. Wingenbach, the new President of the American College of Greece, during which he encouraged both institutions to participate in the upcoming parade in New York.
Mr. Katsos also discussed his conversations with Dimitra Hatziadam regarding her internationally acclaimed photography exhibition “Evzones / Guardians of the Unseen,” which he hopes to bring to New York as part of the fourteen additional events planned in the lead up to the parade. Furthermore, he noted his recent discussion with representatives of the New York Opera, attended by Consul General Ifigenia Nanara, concerning the possibility of staging Pavlos Carrer’s opera “Markos Botsaris” as another signature event.
The Chairman then introduced Philip Christopher, last year’s New York Parade Chairman, who thanked all who had worked on the parades during his tenure. Mr. Christopher emphasized the importance of unity, expressed his commitment to helping bring together the Federation’s various factions, and offered high praise for Mr. Katsos. He added that he had already instructed the parade account signatories to transfer the parade account to Mr. Katsos and the new Federation Parade Committee.
Mr. Katsos thanked Mr. Christopher for his work and leadership, and then invited the various committee chairs to speak briefly. Remarks were offered by:
- John Stroubakis and George Meintassis, Parade Vice Chairs and members of the Parade Gala Committee;
- Peter Gerazounis, Chair of both the Finance Committee and the Journal Committee;
- Evageline Plakas, Chair of the Sail to Freedom event on March 25, 2026;
- Margaret Skourlis, Chair of the Young Professionals / Young Adult Committee;
- Konstantine Ouranitsas, assisting Peter Vlitas, Chair of the Evzones Committee;
- Michelle Tsigaridas Weller, Chair of the Hellenic Dance Committee;
- Prof. Constantine Hatzidimitriou and Billy Chrissochos of the Education Committee;
- Dean Lan Cheng, Chair of the Hybrid Technology/AI Committee, who is also responsible for live-streaming the Federation Parade meetings.
Mr. Katsos then introduced Nicholas Stamatakis who discussed the international premiere of the much awaited “The Governor” movie on Ioannis Kapodistrias directed by Yannis Smaragdis on November 29 at the Museum of the Moving Image, one of the upcoming parade events and themes as next year is the 250th Anniversary of his birth. Mr. Smaragdis will also be at the Stathakion on November 30 to discuss his movie.
In closing, Mr. Katsos reaffirmed the exceptional unity and cooperation being demonstrated by all involved, emphasizing that internal Federation factional issues would not be allowed to intrude on Parade Committee work or events, as they remain separate matters. Selected independently by both sides to serve as Parade Chairman , an unprecedented occurrence , Mr. Katsos expressed his belief that true reconciliation is achievable. Once the parade is completed, he stated his intention to personally help bring all parties together, inspired by the civility and collaboration he has already witnessed in the preparations.
