‘Hard core’ dedication
Abram-Village resident paints Acadian flag on roof in celebration of World Acadian Congress and upcoming Evangeline Exhibition
There’s a shade of red, white and blue that Robert (Alyre) Arsenault was worried he wouldn’t be able to match.
ABRAM-VILLAGE — There’s a certain shade of red, white and blue that Robert (Alyre) Arsenault was worried he wouldn’t be able to match.
But in the end, the AbramVillage resident was pleased to see the perfect Acadian flag he had just painted on his roof.
“It was just a random idea. I was touching up the paint on the outside of the house and I had people come up and ask if I was going to paint it as the Acadian flag,” explained Arsenault. “I quickly thought, ‘no that’s too much work.’ But then I thought about doing the roof.”
Not only is it a creative way to show Acadian pride, the timing was also right for Arsenault.
“I plan on replacing the roof in the fall and putting in a steel one. So, I’m going to leave the flag up until then.”
As a young man, Arsenault remembers his father contributing to the annual festivities celebrating Acadian Heritage. His brother continues the tradition by helping with the annual Evangeline Area Agricultural Exhibition and Acadian Festival.
With the World Acadian Congress being held, in part, on the Island, Arsenault is one of many home and property owners decorating for the event.
“It turned out pretty good. I wasn’t sure if I was going to match the colours, and I was told I might need to put two to three coats on to get the colour, but I got away with one.”
He attributes that to the fact that he painted his roof white several years back.
He said since he painted the roof, it’s common to see traffic stop on the side of the road to take a look at the display and take a picture of it.
“If I had a dollar for every photograph taken, I’d be sitting pretty,” he said with a chuckle.
Raymond J. Arsenault, a fellow Abram-Village resident, said it’s great to see residents get into the spirit of the congress.
“I love the fact that so many people have gotten into the Acadian spirit of the Congrès mondial acadien, even more so than they usually do for our annual Acadian Festival. Everywhere you look, you see our Acadian flag waving proudly and showing that we’re still here, centuries after attempts to deport us and erase us from the face of the earth. And Robert Arsenault’s magnificent rooftop is like the icing on the cake.”
He added: “I’ve heard several people comment about how impressed they are with the effort and dedication that it took Robert to do all that work. One person on Facebook commented that his dedication is “‘hard core’! Leave it to Robert to do something that would stand out.”