Acadian Heritage Week, which kicked off over the weekend, continues all this week with a series of Francophone events. In conjunction with Festivals Acadiens et Créoles , Acadian Heritage Week highlights the history of the Acadians with lectures, exhibitions, and a French Mass tonight at 5:30 at St. John Cathedral. The event is sponsored by the many groups promoting French language and culture in Louisiana and Canada. Click here for a calendar of events for the week.
There will also be representatives in town all week promoting the 2009 Congrès mondial acadien, slated for New Brunswick next August. Look for the CMA booth on Festivals Acadiens et Créoles grounds. There will be a drawing to win a free trip for two to the event. Only festival-goers filling out a ballot on-site will be eligible to win the week-long, all expense paid trip to the Acadian Peninsula for Congrès mondial acadien. On Sunday, at noon, the legendary Acadian band, 1755 will perform at the Scène Atelier. In the 1970s, an era marked by political and cultural turmoil, 1755 broke through barriers separating the ‘two solitudes’ (Francophones and Anglophones) of New Brunswick. Nicknamed, the ‘Beatles of Acadie’, with their unique blend of traditional roots music and rock, they gave Acadians a band to call their own.
Band member Roland Gauvin and Cajun musician Louie Michot will be touring Acadiana schools this week, offering a workshop for French immersion students entitled “Discovering my Acadian Roots.” The workshop is designed to teach children about their heritage and the connection they have to Acadie du Nord , in Canada. For more information about the workshops and the 2009 Congrès mondial acadien, visit the website or call Rachelle Dugas at 291.5489.