There was a sea of green and white along Sarnia's waterfront Monday morning.
Hundreds of students from Sarnia's french language schools were decked out in the colours are they gathered to raise the Franco-Ontarian Flag at the Seaway Parkette, at the foot Lochiel St.
Ecole Les Rapides Principal Luc Vallee brought children from Grade 2 to Grade 6.
"Today is flag day," says Vallee. "Throughout Ontario we celebrate our culture and our language and so the flag symbolizes us and we're here to make some noise."
St. Thomas Aquinas Grade 4/5 teacher Alain Brosseau was there with his students and 3-year-old daughter Liliane.
"We're quite a big group in Sarnia of french people that live here," says Brosseau. "I think we're over 3,000. So, it's very important to celebrate and pass on this culture to students in Sarnia."
The flag flew for the first time on September 25, 1975 at Laurentian University in Sudbury.
It became the symbol of the Franco-Ontarian community and was officially recognized in 2001.
Over 600,000 francophone people live in Ontario -- Canada’s largest francophone community outside of Quebec.
Hundreds of students celebrate Franco-Ontarian Flag Day along Sarnia's waterfront. #SLont @CscProvidence pic.twitter.com/MX479ASeNw
— Melanie Irwin (@MIrwinCHOKNews) September 25, 2017
