The gymnasium at the Centre Communautaire Francophone de Sarnia was filled with green and white as Franco-Ontarian Day was celebrated on Thursday.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Franco-Ontarian flag, which was created by Gaetan Gervais in 1975.
Hundreds of students from schools across Sarnia attended the ceremony and flag raising.
President Tanya Tamilio said the event is held each year, but this year was slightly different.
"We raised 25 flags for the 50th, and with two people per flag to celebrate the 50th, and we try to do intergenerational, so a senior or older person with a youth to show that growth," she said.
The ceremony also had live music and a 1,000 balloon drop.
Tamilio said this is one of her favourite events of the year.
"It's really the day that you feel the energy coming from the students in the community all at once. There's a common proudness of just who they are and the fact they can speak two languages," she said.
The topic of bilingualism was a theme during the ceremony. Tamilio said it is important to highlight knowing more than one language.
"I think it opens opportunities for youngsters. It helps immigration and immigration is required in Canada," she said.
Tamilio said it is up to kids to keep bilingualism going.
"We always say it's the new generation. Hence our target audience are the students, they're the future, they're the ones who are going to maintain bilingualism," she said.
According to Tamilio, Centre Communautaire Francophone has been open in Sarnia since 1964.
She believes more people are getting involved with the French programming.
"We see it on the community side," Tamilio said. "We run day camps and our day camps are full, whether it be March break or summer and it's mostly people from French-Immersion that would like to keep their kids speaking French over the summer."
Mayor Mike Bradley attended and was paired with a student to raise one of the flags in the gymnasium.
Franco-Ontarian Day was first recognized in 2010.
