But the recent games and picnic night weren't about Fernando Torres or Xavi Hernandez. No, for the 32 Spanish students in Niagara West for a three-week program, it was all about Grimsby's celebrity - Mayor Bob Bentley.

"On behalf of Grimsby council and west Niagara, it's an honour for us to have you," Bentley told the group at 7:30 p.m. "Hopefully you enjoy your stay and treasure it for a number of years. I like to say the sun always shines in Grimsby."

Bentley's visit was just one of many planned for the students, who came from the Canary Islands and Valentia for a three-week stay on July 8.

This is the first year that the Red-Leaf Student Program is being offered in Niagara, said local co-ordinator Joanna Kocsis.

The students, who arrived with an adult chaperone, take English as a Second Language lessons at Grimsby Secondary School each morning, then spend the afternoon immersed in Canadian culture.

Afternoons will be spent in Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ball's Falls and even Canada's Wonderland.

"Each of these students received scholarships from their schools to come here," explained Kocsis. The students range in age from 14 to 17. They will head home on July 29.

In April, Kocsis advertised for host families across the Niagara Peninsula, and she is proud to say that families from Grimsby, Beamsville and Smithville were the most responsive.

"We had a disproportionately huge response from here," she said Thursday. "People here are more community-oriented."

The goal of the program is to immerse the student in an English-speaking environment.