Kid from Acadia

For a good chunk of my youth, I lived in the Calgary community of Acadia. Never thought much about the origin of that name but Acadia’s place in Canadian history and culture is significant in the Maritimes.

In a to-the-victors-go -the-spoils moment, the English expelled the Acadians from New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia when they defeated the French in one of their many wars in the 18th century.

The Acadians were deported, families being separated— some went into hiding, many landed in Louisiana. But eventually they returned to start over and in the hotbed of Acadien culture, the New Brunswick town of Caraquet, they proudly show off their pride and colours — red, white, blue and a yellow star wherever you go.

Banners, flags, lighthouses, lobster nets, park benches all showing off their Acadien patriotism. There is real community buy-in much like people decorate their homes for Christmas. Tuesday, August 15th is the Acadian’s big day and we saw the town preparing for an event which will quadruple their population with visitors.

A tip of the hat to the Acadians— a proud and resilient people, who embrace their history and traditions — including a delicious sugar pie we ate today at the Acadian Historical Village. Almost worth the price of admission.Read more