Grand-Pre visit means many things

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

Kings County Register

The flowers are blooming, the tourists are arriving, and life has picked up at Grand-Pré National Historic Site.

Like all the other guides, François Gaudet and Susan Surette-Draper are happy to be back at work at the magnificent park.

As Acadians, Gaudet and Surette-Draper feel particularly privileged to be able to work from May to October in an historic site that values their Acadian identity.

“When I come back to Grand-Pré,” Gaudet says, “I always have the impression that I’m in the right place, I feel connected to my heritage. Every day, I meet people who share that heritage.”

Surette-Draper feels especially attached to Grand-Pré because one of her ancestors was married in 1732 in the little church that once stood in Grand-Pré. Unlike most Acadians, her ancestor and his family were able to escape the Deportation.

A Port Williams resident and organizer of Les Amis de Grand Pré, Surette-Draper loves talking with visitors.

“Often their visit to Grand-Pré represents for them a personal accomplishment, a pilgrimage. That is true for all kinds of people - not just Acadians and Cajuns. Certainly Longfellow’s famous poem, Evangeline, written over 150 years ago; gave Grand-Pré its romantic appeal.”

The huge weeping willows, the colourful Victorian gardens, and the acres of green space enhance that atmosphere. Guides welcome visitors and help them take advantage of their visit to Grand-Pré National Historic Site, which commemorates the Deportation and the life of the Acadians in Grand-Pré from 1682 to 1755.

Entrance to the site is free (except for commercial groups) July 1, Canada Day; July 27 for Acadian Days; and August 15, the Acadian national holiday.

WEBLINKS

www.grand-pre.com



An athletic first for Grand Pre

More than 1,000 young Acadian athletes from all corners of the Atlantic provinces and an estimated 300 organizers, parents and chaperones will be in Grand Pre for the Finale des Jeux de l’Acadie June 29

Victor Tetreault, who directs the Société Promotion Grand-Pré, says the society is happy to welcome all the participants.

“This visit falls exactly within the mandate and the mission of the société, which is to promote the Acadian history and culture as it relates to Grand-Pré.”

He says they will have a guided cultural experience at the park and notes many have never visited the site before.

The Lions Club of Wolfville is contributing a meal for the visitors and a concert by the internationally known Acadian folk rock group Grand Dérangement from Baie Sante-Marie is planned.

This is the first time in the 29-year history of the games they’ve been held in Nova Scotia, taking place in the Halifax area June 27 to July 1.