WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th May, 2019) Thousands of people are expected to participate in Immortal Regiment marches in several major cities across the United States this weekend to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War.
Peaceful marches are planned in Washington, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago and many other big and small cities in the United States. People will bring photos of their family members who brought the victory by their sacrifices, and will be singing songs which helped Soviet soldiers to defeat Nazism.
In Washington, participants are expected to gather on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. local time (7:30 p.m. GMT) near the White House.
They are going to proceed towards the World War II Memorial and police will block a part of 17th Street for the rally.
"This year we expect about 700 people to join the walk," Ekaterina Hill, who has organized the Immortal Regiment march in Washington for several years, told Sputnik.
Hill added that participation continues to grow each year.
"We will be singing war time songs accompanied our beloved accordion player, Artem Starchenko, and Kaleidoscope children group performers from New York will be dancing," she said.
At the memorial, participants will greet World War II veterans and present them flowers. Then, the veterans will share their stories. The March will conclude with a short concert by Kaleidoscope.
In New York City the march starts on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. local time from Pier 26 in Manhattan's West side.
Organizers said that over the past five years the number of participants has grown by a factor of ten to 2,000 people in 2018.
"We will be marching a mile along the Hudson River, carrying portraits of our loved ones and singing war-time songs," they told Sputnik. "The march will end at the memorial to those who fell during the World War II on the territory of Battery Park, located opposite the Statue of Liberty island."
Soviet and US war veterans will join the procession while participants of the action will lay flowers at the monument, give bouquets to veterans and will release hundreds of white balloons to the sky to the sounds of famous Soviet song "Cranes".
Philadelphia is planning to join the Immortal Regiment on Sunday, May 5.
"We expect about 600-800 participants who will come through the main city's Market Street," the event coordinator Victor Popovkin told Sputnik.
At the end of the march veterans will share their stories at a rally, Popovkin said, adding that hundreds of white balloons will be released to the sky as well.
The Immortal Regiment is a patriotic initiative that commemorates WWII soldiers in marches held across Russia and other countries. Within the framework of the movement, people march with images of their family members, who had participated in World War II. For the first time, the rally took place in 2012, in Russia's Tomsk and then has spread to other cities and countries across the world.
