Cleaning up and setting example
Louisiana cousins will be coming to P.E.I. to take part in National Acadian Day in the Evangeline region on Wednesday, Aug. 15.
Cajun musicians Jourdan Thibodeaux et les Rodailleurs will be performing during the family festival, taking place from 6-9:30 p.m. on the festival grounds in Abram-Village.
There will be a traditional tintamarre noise parade, an outdoor folk music show and Acadian food.
Things will kick off with music from Deux Gorgés, DOC, Fayo and Thibodeaux et les Rodailleurs.
The celebration will also mark one year to the Congrés mondial acadien 2019, which P.E.I. and southeastern New Brunswick will host Aug. 10-24, 2019.
Celebrations are set to start with a tintamarre, where people dressed in Acadian colours will parade around making as much noise as possible.
It will feature close to 100 fiddlers.
Everybody is invited to dress up in Acadian and Canadian colours to participate.
After the flag raising and a few speeches, the performance portion of the evening will begin.
The event will also have children’s activities. The little ones can enjoy inflatables, face painting and a visit from the “Beach Goats,’’ who will be in costume for the event.
The Acadian Musical Village will sell a variety of Acadian dishes.
A special mass will honour the patron saint of Acadians, Our Lady of the Assumption, to be held at the Notre-Dame-duMont-Carmel Church at 10 a.m.
In Charlottetown, the festivities will begin with a tintamarre, departing at 3:30 p.m. from Peakes Quay and heading to Victoria Row.
An official ceremony will be held in the presence of government dignitaries and various partners. The day will continue with music and activities for the entire family.
At 5 p.m., the Fédération culturelle will present a performance of the Carnaval en Promenade, a combination of dance, music and circus acts.
Attendees can stay on Victoria Row for an evening concert starting at 6 p.m. and featuring Karine Gallant, Zakk Cormier, Mario Robichaud, and les Faux Pas.
The Northumberland Strait beach and the banks of streams and estuaries between Waterford and Burton are about 500 kilograms lighter due to the efforts of workers and volunteers with two watershed groups.
The Roseville-Miminegash Watersheds Inc. co-ordinated the recent two-day cleanup and received assistance from Tignish and Area Watersheds Management Group.
Seven workers from the two groups and two volunteers spent two days gathering up garbage that was then transported to the Island Waste Management depot in Brockton.
Danny Murphy, co-ordinator for Roseville-Miminegash, estimates the nine-member team covered 40 kilometres of shoreline. The effort focused on the Black Pond, Miminegash, Little Miminegash, Campbellton, White’s Cove and Dalton’s Brook watersheds.
Plastic chairs, rope and buoys, disposable diapers, vehicle parts including brake drums, bicycle fenders, tires and broken glass were among the finds.
“We’re finding it’s getting a little better every year,” Murphy said, suggesting people are noticing the twice-a-year cleanup effort and are doing their part not to add to the problem.
The watersheds group also has containers located at the beach access points in Campbellton and Burton so that beach users can stash their trash, and any trash they find on the beaches, on their way home.