TIGNISH
Even as she enjoyed the festivities during National Acadian Day celebrations at Centre Acadien de Prince-Ouest in Deblois on Wednesday, Amy Graham could not help but look ahead to next year.
This year’s celebrations set the one-year clock in motion for next summer’s international Congrès Mondial Acadien which is being hosted throughout P.E.I. and southeastern New Brunswick.
“This - CMA - is a big thing,” gushed Graham, president of Le Conseil Rév. S.-E.-Perry, the West Prince regional committee of La Société Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin. “They have them all over - in Louisiana and Quebec. It is a big deal to have it here.”
Graham acknowledges many people travel to the CMAs wherever they’re held. It will be her first time attending and she can’t wait, she said. Prince Edward Island host sites include Tignish, Wellington, Abram-Village, Miscouche, Summerside, North Rustico, Charlottetown and Souris. Tignish, Abram Village, Summerside, Rustico and Charlottetown all hosted Acadian Day celebrations on Wednesday.
CMA 2019 host communities on the New Brunswick side of the Northumberland Strait stretch from Rogersville to Memramcook.
“It’s the exposure of it; we’re going to be put on the map,” she said, noting one day of the P.E.I. part of the August 10 to 24, 2019 activities will be focused in West Prince, hosted by Le Conseil Rév. S.-E.-Perry and the Town of Tignish. “We’re hoping they are going to come from all over,” said Graham; “We’re hoping they are going to come here, because it is a big, big event.”
Speaking during the Centre Acadien de Prince-Ouest celebrations, Ricky Hiscock, CMA 2019 volunteers coordinator, said CMA is a unique event that welcomes all those interested in or fond of Acadian culture. He said it will feature spectacular concerts, family gatherings, reunions, conferences and activities for the youth.
The Acadian Day celebrations in Tignish incorporated some of those activities, including lively Acadian music headed up by Monique Pendergast Doucette, Steven Perry and Victor and Cathy Doucette. There were bouncy castles, face painting and treats.
