Museum to Host Acadian Celebrations

Pictou County's French and Acadian heritage will be in the spotlight during a celebration at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton on Saturday, June 12.

The event will be a fun-filled fête with a distinctly French flavour. The museum and the Pictou County Acadian Celebrations Committee/Committe des Célébrations Acadiennes du Comté de Pictou have organized the event as the launch to a series of projects and events the committee is undertaking this year.

Festivities will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be something for everyone, from food and musical entertainment to crafts and displays.

A flag raising ceremony on the Museum of Industry grounds will kick-off the day. Premier John Hamm and Stan Surette, president of the Nova Scotia Acadian Federation, will attend the event. Students from Frank H. MacDonald School will sing Acadian songs and the Acadian anthem. Students from G.R. Saunders School will recite a proclamation in both French and English.

Some of the activities scheduled for the day include, live storytelling by members of the Pictou County Writers' Group, a pantry table, face painting, Acadian crafts for children, and student heritage fair project displays. There will also be display booths including Canadian Parents for French, Pictou- Antigonish Regional Library and the 2004 World Acadian Congress.

Admission to the celebration and the museum is free.

NOTE: Following is a list of events planned for the Acadian celebration at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton.

• chef demonstration with sampling of Acadian cuisine hosted by Pictou Lodge from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• guest speaker and historian George Arsenault will give presentations in both French and English in the museum auditorium from 11:30 a.m. to noon and 2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
• Acadia Street School students in period costume will read letters written by early Acadian settlers, from 12:45 p.m. to 1 p.m.
• Daniel Comeau, storyteller and percussionist, will perform from 12:10 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.
• Andrew Dupuis, accordion player will perform from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
• Fleur Mainville, fiddler, will perform accompanied by Ross MacVicar on guitar from 2 p.m. to 2:40 p.m.
• Delores Boudreau, a two-time Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia award nominee, will perform at 3:15 p.m.