On September 22, 2017, the Armenian General Benevolent Union held a sold out event in the Alex Manoogian School Hall on the occasion of Armenia’s 26th Independence Day. Newly appointed Armenian Ambassador HE Levon Martirosyan made his first public appearance and speech as Ambassador …since arriving to Canada.The evening started with the scouts and fanfare marching into the hall. The Marching Band then played the national anthems of Canada and Armenia. After remarks by chairman Chahé Tanachian, who congratulated everyone on Independence Day and thanked the organizing committee for such a memorable event, Member of Parliament Emmanuella Lambropoulos took stage and conveyed the message of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Finally, Ambassador Martirosyan spoke at length about the importance and significance of strengthening our statehood, reinforcing Armenia-Diaspora relations and further developing Canada-Armenia bilateral ties.The rest of the night was entertained to perfection by DJ Sahag and the incredible Elie Berberian with his band, who made the youth dance until the early hours of the morning. Most significantly, 10,000$ profit was generated from this event and will go towards projects in Artsakh and Scholarships for Syrian-Armenian Students.