Preceded by two stilt-walkers and two boys carrying a banner reading: “Our Art and Culture Will Always Survive no matter our Circumstances. St. Maarten Still Standing. # WEARESXM, #SXMSTRONG,” Generation New Status STM drum band on Saturday morning kicked off the activities leading up to St. Maarten/St. Martin Day 2017 with a parade through the hurricane-battered streets of Philipsburg. The parade was a collaboration between the Council of Cultural and Artistic Expression (COCAAE) Foundation and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sport. The parade also served as the soft launch of the #SXMSTRONG campaign under the slogan “Rebuilding our Nation.”
