Wednesday, Aug.

13, 2014 (Halifax, NS) – The Halifax Regional Municipality invites residents to an event in Grand Parade on Thursday, Aug. 14, to celebrate Acadian culture with the Francophone community.

Held one day in advance of National Acadian Day (Aug. 15), the community event in Grand Parade will begin at 8 p.m. with the raising of the Acadian flag by Mayor Mike Savage and Justice Minister Lena Diab. Other event highlights include:

• Performance by the members of Voix d’Acadie of the Acadian national anthem;
• Musical set by Tee Chaoui Social Club (T-sha wee), a high-energy Cajun band from south Louisiana;
• Screening of French film Il était une fois les Boys in collaboration with the Atlantic Film Festival.

This marks the 2nd year that the municipality has held a flag-raising ceremony to mark National Acadian Day.

With approximately 11,000 residents that identify themselves as Francophone and 46,000 that consider themselves bilingual, the French-speaking community is vibrant and active in Halifax, contributing to the region’s diversity as well as its economic and cultural development.

The municipality would like to acknowledge the efforts of the Conseil communautaire du Grand-Havre (CCGH) in producing the event in Grand Parade. Representatives from CCGH participate in a committee that was created in the spring of 2013 to open the lines of communication between the Francophone community and municipal government. The committee also includes municipal staff, representatives from the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP), as well as students and parents of the CSAP.

For more information about the Conseil communautaire du Grand-Havre and planned celebrations for National Acadian Day please visit www.ccgh.ca.

Source: Release