A group of Acadiana tourism and cultural officials have traversed the reverse of the Grand Derangement, making a pilgrimage to Lafayette’s twin city, Moncton, New Brunswick, on Canada’s Acadian Peninsula. Gerald Breaux, executive director of the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission, and Ray Trahan, president of the Confederation of Associations of Families Acadian were stirring up a pot of gumbo this week, helping to build the ties between Louisiana’s Cajuns and their Canadian cousins.
The trip is to promote next year’s Congrès Mondial Acadian in New Brunswick and lay the groundwork for bringing the congrès to south Louisiana in 2014. The Pine Leaf Boys have been bringing Louisiana’s brand of nouvelle Cajun music to old Acadie as well. They played at Festival Acadien de Caraquet on Tuesday, and Dieppe’s Wednesday Show, a summertime concert series in July and August in the New Brunswick town of Dieppe, on Wednesday.
Next week, I’ll be following in the footsteps of our Acadian ancestors, visiting the towns of New Brunswick where the Broussards, Thibodeaus, Brasseurs and others lived before their expulsion by the British in 1755. I’ll be sending a daily post and photos of the trip. Be sure to check The INDsider, Aug. 13-15, and watch for an upcoming feature story in The Independent Weekly.