Group hoping to make county a stop for Acadian visitors
The Evening News
A local group is hoping
to ass Pictou County to the map of places to visit during the Congres
mondial acadien (world Acadian congress) being hosted by Nova Scotia
in 2004.
Daniel Cameau, congress
co-ordinator for the central region, will make a presentation about
the event in New Glasgow April 3 for those interested in seeing a
project or event organized locally that would tie into the
International gathering.
Pictou County is known for its strong Scottish heritage but has also
had an important French presence, said Bridgeville historian John
Ashton, who has been researching a former settlement of French miners,
called Raymond-ville, in the Trafalgar-Lorne area. He and some
of the miners' descendants are hoping to see a permanent monument
erected at the settlement site in time for the Acadian congress.
While the miners were not Acadian but came from France much later, in
the 1870's, their story would add to the overall celebration of French
and Acadian culture, he said.
Ashton said the phonebook shows many Acadian surnames in Pictou
County, such as Arsenault, Boudreau, Delorey, Doucette, Gerrior,
Landry, LeBlanc, Melanson, Pettipas and Richards, and some of these
people might be interested in participating in the congress and
learning more about their Acadian roots.
The year 2004 will mark the third Congres mondial acadien. The
16-day event, which runs from July 31-Aug. 15, is expected to attract
about 100,000 visitors from outside Nova Scotia, including other
Atlantic provinces, Quebec, the New England States and Louisiana, said
Vaughne Madden, general manager of Congres mondial acadien 2004.
The Nova Scotia event will have a special significance because 2004
marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first French
settlers' on the eastern coast.
A main focus of
the congress will be dozens of family reunions expected across the
province. Opening ceremonies will be held in Clare and the
closing ceremonies and mass will take place in Grand Pre. A
series of conferences is also being planned.
People can find
out more information about the congress and the reunions being planned
by visiting the event's Web Site at
www.cma2004.com.
Wednesday's presentation will take place in the boardroom of The
Evening News, East River Road, New Glasgow, at 7 p.m. For more
information contact 928-3527*
*This presentation has already taken
place, so please do not call. Thank-you.