LA PAROLE
Newsletter of the Acadian Museum
By: Chairman Warren A. Perrin
Acadian Heritage and Culture Foundation, Inc.
203 S. Broadway, Erath, Louisiana 70533
(337) 233-5832; 937-5468
www.acadianmuseum.com
March 18, 2015
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You are on the museum's email list to receive La Parole. If you know of anyone who
would like to receive it, please forward their name and email address to my secretary
Darylin at: [email protected]. If you no longer want to receive future issues, please
advise at the email noted above.
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Shown at right are Acadie Then and Now: A People’s History and
the French version L'Acadie hier et aujourd'hui: L'histoire d'un
peuple by Mary Broussard Perrin, Phil Comeau and me.
Available locations where the book may be obtained :
Acadie Then and Now: A People’s History, and the French version
L'Acadie hier et aujourd'hui: L'histoire d'un peuple, by Warren Perrin,
Mary Broussard Perrin, and Phil Comeau. In the US, either the English or
French editions may be ordered from the Acadian Museum,
(www.acadianmuseum.com), Perrin, Landry & deLaunay by calling
(337) 233-5832 or Andrepont Printing ([email protected]
or calling (337) 942-6385. Books can be purchased from vendors at: The
Depot at Magdalen Place in Abbeville, Vermilionville and Champagne’s
in Lafayette.
On the internet, the English edition is available through
www.amazon.com, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ or
www.booksamillion.com.
Acadie Then and
Now: A People’s
History
by Warren A. Perrin,
Mary Broussard Perrin
and Phil Comeau
Andrepont Publishing
Price: $30
In Canada, the books in either French or English editions may be ordered
from
Jacques
Ouellet
of
La
Grande
Marée
at
email:
[email protected], or on the web at www.amazon.ca. The French
version is also available in most good book stores in the Maritime
provinces and in Quebec.
$
Acadie Then and Now: A People’s History Upcoming Book Events
2015
Warren and Mary Perrin
For more information, call (337) 233-5832, or email [email protected]
Louisiana Schedule
Apr. 10
- LSUE, The Arnold LeDoux Library, Room 105, Eunice, LA.
May 9
- Acadia Parish Library, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., 1125 N. Parkerson Ave.,
Crowley, LA.
May 20
- Rotary Club, noon, Houma, LA.
June 9
- Louisiana State Bar Convention, 8:00 – 9:00 a.m., Sandestin, FL.
July 18
- Grand Pré, 1:30, Nova Scotia, Canada
Oct. 9
- GRA Conference, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m., Blues Room, Cajun Dome
Convention Center, Lafayette, LA
Oct. 17
- German-Acadian Coast Historical & Genealogical Society,
11:00 a.m., Ormond Plantation, New Sarpy, LA.
Oct. 31
- Louisiana State Book Festival, Baton Rouge, LA.

The archaeological exhibit that Helen E Kristmanson curated, "Digging Into the Past: An
Archaeological Discovery in Malpeque Bay," which was scheduled to finish in January
2015 has been extended until October 2015. Some information can be found here
http://www.gov.pe.ca/newsroom/index.php3?number=news&lang=E&newsnumber=974
9

The Musée acadien de l’Université de Moncton is proud to present L’Acadie mythique, a
travelling exhibition showcasing works by artists from New Brunswick, Maine, PrinceEdouard-Island, Nova Scotia and Louisiana (Mary Broussard Perrin is in the show and
represents the Acadian Museum of Erath). The opening was February 25th. The
exhibition is a project of Saint Mary's University Art Gallery in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It
consists of contemporary artworks created in response to historical objects and
documents found in collections of the participating museums and archives centre: The
Acadian Archives at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, Musée historique du
Madawaska (Edmundston, N.B.), Musée acadien de l’Université de Moncton, Centre
acadien de l’Université Sainte-Anne (Clare, N.S.), Acadian Museum of Prince Edward
Island. Each individual artist has selected an object or objects to interpret in the medium
of their choice. The exhibition is curated by Harlan Johnson with Mireille Bourgeois as
the coordinator.

A new restaurant soon will open in a historic downtown building in Lafayette. The latest
endeavor of the Balbeisi brothers, Century Irish Gastropub is scheduled to open March 23
at 116 E. Vermilion Street. It will feature Cajun and Irish food fusion.

Paddlers now can navigate the Bayou Vermilion online with the launch of a new app,
which is a collaboration between the Bayou Vermilion District, the Bayou Vermilion
Preservation Association, Lafayette Consolidated Government and the tech company CDI
Federal. It includes more than 70 stop sites for food, restaurants and entertainment along
the river. The Bayou Vermilion Paddle Trail is accessible through LCG’s website.

A new CD, with a title that translates to “I have a Song in My Heart,” aims to put money
in the pockets of French immersion programs. The album, J’ai une Chanson dans mon
Coeur, features Zachary Richard and other musicians performing with Les Étoiles
d’Immersion, or Stars of Immersion, who are students from Lafayette, New Iberia, Lake
Charles and New Orleans. Proceeds from the 10-song CD, which sells for $9.99, benefit
Consortium of French Immersion programs of Louisiana. Songs can also be downloaded
for 99 cents each on iTunes and CD Baby. The students perform a variety of songs,
including pop, rock, rap, ballads and Cajun. Steve Riley, Roddie Romero, David Egan
and Sam Broussard were among the musicians playing on the CD, which was coproduced by C.C. Adcock.

The French immersion program is among the most popular in the Lafayette school
district with classes available at Evangeline Elementary, Prairie Elementary, Alice
Boucher Elementary and Myrtle Place Elementary. Because students spend their school
day learning in the foreign language for all classes except English language arts, entry
into the foreign immersion is for preschool or kindergarten students. About 60 high
school French immersion students take advanced language course in world history, world
geography and chemistry at Lafayette High.

On Feb. 15, this appeared in Parade Magazine: More than the sum of its parts, gumbo is
a traditional Mardi Gras indulgence. There is little consensus over what goes into the
signature dish, except that the best gumbos are made at home. Lifetime Crescent City
resident Poppy Tooker, who beat Bobby Flay in a gumbo throwdown, is writing a
cookbook on New Orleans’s second-oldest restaurant, Tujague’s. Here, she shares her
gumbo recipe, loaded with chicken, sausage and shellfish.
Mardi Gras Gumbo
¾ lb. fresh pork or beef sausage links
¾ lb. smoked sausage, sliced
¾ lb. boneless, skinless chicken
breast, cubed
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
4 quarts chicken broth
1.
2.
2 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
½ cup thinly sliced green onions
½ lb. Gulf shrimp, peeled
½ lb claw crabmeat
1 pint Gulf oysters
salt and hot pepper to taste
1 ½ Tbsp file powder (more to taste)
hot cooked rice
Pierce skin of fresh sausage and brown in a large Dutch oven. Remove from pan.
Let cool, slice into rings and set aside.
Brown smoked sausage in the fat remaining in the Dutch oven. Remove.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Sauté chicken in same pan until lightly brown. Remove.
Add oil to fat in pan and heat until simmering. Stir in flour (this is your roux).
Cook, stirring constantly, until roux is a milk chocolate brown, 10 to 15 minutes
(depending on how high the heat). Add onion and cook, stirring constantly until
the roux darkens to a better-sweet chocolate color, about 3 minutes. Add celery
and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth,
thyme and bay leaves and bring mixture to a boil.
Return sausage and chicken to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer
and cook until thickened and fragrant, about 45 minutes.
Add green onions. Add shellfish. Cook until shrimp are pink and edges of
oysters ruffle, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and hot sauce.
Remove from heat and stir in file powder. Serve or rice. Serves 10 to 12.
LSU Press’ “Hurricane Katrina in Transatlantic Perspective,” edited by Romain Huret
and Randy J. Sparks, is the product of a decade of scholarship and has roots in the
Crescent City’s special relationship with France. In December 2005, Sara Le Menestrel
organized a Paris conference of French and American scholars. It was followed by
gathering in the Crescent city for the storm’s 5th anniversary. What resulted is this
collection of essays that looks both forward and backward, turning the storm over and
over like a Rubik’s cube.

Cajun singer and songwriter Zachary Richard says whooping cranes are important to
Louisiana, and people should help protect them. He’s made a 30-second television spot
about the endangered birds for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The
agency says it’s scheduled for distribution later this month. There are about 600 of the
elegant five-foot-tall birds in the world. They’re all descendants of 15 that once lived in
Texas.

The Vermilion Parish Giant Omelette Celebration was honored for its uniqueness as USA
Today named the festival one of the strangest food festivals in the U. S. The festival,
which happens in early November, is highlighted when chefs from Confrerie D’Abbeville
gather to make a huge omelet made with 5,000 eggs. There is also an arts and craft show
along with live music.

Opelousas’ La Table Française, a monthly French table where visitors may enjoy a
morning of conversation and entertainment in French, returned on February 25th. The
free, hour-long event begins at 8:30 a.m. in Acadian House at Le Vieux Village, 828 E.
Landry Street. “We have a pretty good following,” said Patrice Melnick with Opelousas
tourism, which hosts the program. She said the group includes nearly equal numbers of
native Cajun and Creole French speakers and people who seek to improve their language
skills in a relaxed and inviting setting.

A few words from the French American Chamber of Commerce-GC President:
Dear FACC-GC members and friends,
It is our pleasure to invite you to the 2015 FACC-GC Annual Dinner Meeting Thursday,
March 19, at the JW Marriott in New Orleans. Join us starting at 5:30 p.m. as Michael
Hecht of Greater New Orleans Inc. discusses the state of the economy, trade and business
in Louisiana. We are also very proud to honor this year's recipients of the FACC-GC
Distinguished Member Award, Earl Dyck with Air Liquide and Randy Robb with the
Chennault International Airport Authority. Please help us celebrate these two gentlemen
for their dedication and outstanding contributions to promoting international trade and
investment in the Gulf Coast region. See ticket information below.
Also, if you have not renewed your membership for this year, you can do so by sending
us your completed 2015 FACC-GC Membership Application form and by paying your
dues.
Thank you for your continued support!
Eric Belin, FACC-GC President

Twenty-six releases, 9 Grammy nominations and a Grammy victory. Not bad for a
record label that’s only 10 years old and hidden in rural St. Landry Parish near Eunice.
The label’s founders, three 30-somethings, run the business in their spare time and started
their venture on a whim. With a new degree in mathematics and French from LSU,
fiddler Joel Savoy was chasing a girlfriend in the mountains of Alberta, Canada, when
intense homesickness set in.
Savoy called old friends Lucius Fontenot and Philip
LaFargue and said, “Let’s start a record label.” Valcour Records, a label named after
Joel’s great-great-great-grandfather, Pierre Valcour Savoie, was born.

Here is an excerpt from an article by Cheré Coen: “John Sharp likes to talk to strangers,
and sometimes the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, folklorist gleans valuable
information from elderly folks standing in line at Target. Sharp is gathering information
on Louisiana dance halls for both LouisianaDancehalls.com, a website containing
information on about 1,600 dance halls throughout Louisiana, a full-length documentary
on the subject he hopes to finish by the end of this year. Even though Sharp has gathered
photos, newspaper articles and advertisements and a valuable collection of dance hall
matchbooks, it’s the oral histories that sometimes connect the dots.”

Few artists in this music-crazed corner of the world can match the resume of Stanley
“Buckwheat” Dural of Carencro.
Leader of the Grammy and Emmy-winning band
Buckwheat Zydeco, Dural performed before a worldwide TV audience of 3 billion during
the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Dural has added another first to
his 30-year career: “Buckwheat’s World,” which went live on Mardi Gras day, marks the
first time a zydeco artist has had a dedicated You-tube channel.

Once again, we are donating a crawfish boil to a group that bid upon it to support the Fr.
Glen Meaux's Catholic mission in Haiti – see his website. Master boiler Glenn Viltz of
Delcambre will be in charge of cooking crawfish. Ross Hebert will provide the choice
crawfish and supplies will be provided by Champagnes of Erath. The event will take
place at our farm in Henry La. 6805 Highway 330 Erath, La. 70533 on Saturday, May 23
at 4 PM. We will invite Dale Broussard to tell his "true" stories and Pat, Nat Bo – Trio
Cadien – to provide their fabulous music. Two-time Grammy winner DL Menard will be
invited to sing some of his classic songs. The event will be covered by the food editor for
The Advocate Cheramie Sonnier. http://solthaitimission.org/

An article by Herman Fuselier, The Daily Advertiser: “A rare film featuring Clifton
Chenier, the Grammy-winning King of Zydeco, was screened March 16 at
Vermilionville. The 1978 footage captures Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band at
Jay’s Lounge and Cockpit in Cankton and the Kingfish in Baton Rouge. Writer and
cultural activist Todd Mouton uncovered this film while researching his forthcoming
book, “Way Down in Louisiana: Clifton Chenier, Cajun, Zydeco, and Swamp Pop
Music.”

The Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages,
announced that the government of Canada will provide a total of $61,860 in funding to
three Francophone groups that offer a variety of cultural activities to residents of the Baie
Sainte-Marie area of Nova Scotia. This contribution, provided through the Canada Arts
Presentation Fund, will be used to support projects. The 60th edition of the Festival
acadien de Clare will take place from August 9 to 16, 2015, with a special show planned
for National Acadian Day on August 15.

Shown recently at the Salon du livre in capital region of Ottawa are, left, Yves Turbide,
directeur de l'Association the auteurs de l'Ontario
français (Association of Franco-Ontarian writers) and
Phil Comeau, editor and author of Acadie Then and
Now: A People’s History.

On Saturday, March 21, come take part in welcoming the Acadians to Louisiana, along
with food, music, arts and crafts, theater, demonstrations and workshops, at the 11th
annual Acadian Memorial Heritage Festival and Wooden Boat Congrès! The Festival
takes place in Evangeline Oak Park on the Bayou Teche in downtown St. Martinville
from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Enjoy traditional
Cajun food and crafts, while watching demonstrations of how they are cooked and
crafted from local chefs and artisans. gumbo, fried fish, jambalaya and cracklin
demonstrations continue throughout the festival beginning at 9 a.m.

For a third consecutive year, Radio-Canada Acadie is lending the voice of its “Le Réveil”
morning show host Denis Duchesne to the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of
Commerce of P.E.I. to the 13th Acadian Entrepreneurs’ Gala. “We are extremely lucky
to have once again obtained this in-kind contribution from Radio-Canada Acadie since
Mr. Duchesne’s great, radio-friendly voice, recorded over a nice musical background,
raises the professional standard of our gala evening,” says Raymond J. Arsenault, cocoordinator of the event.

Co-author of Acadie Then and Now, Michèle Touret-Bodin will be present at the
upcoming Salon du livre in La Rochelle, France, to represent our book.

The Endangered Cemeteries Exhibit is currently at the State Archives through March and
showcases cemetery research documented by Jessica H. Schexnayder with the Louisiana
Sea Grant College Program at LSU and Mary Manhein with the LSU FACES Lab,
according to State Archivist Dr. Florent Hardy, Jr. The exhibit includes information on
coastal and inland cemeteries whose fates are questionable due to coastal erosion, storm
inundation, urban neglect, subsidence, sea level rise and eminent domain. To date, 137
cemeteries have been documented.

Steve Riley, Michael Juan Nunez and Jeffery Broussard are among the musicians
participating in Festival International’s annual Louisiana International Music Exchange
set for 1:30 p.m. April 24 at Feed & Seed, 106 N. Grant Street in downtown Lafayette.
LIME allows local musicians to showcase their music before visiting event presenters,
festival programmers, music supervisors, record labels and agents.

Louisiana Historical Association's 57th Annual Meeting will be in Lafayette: Thursday,
March 5 to Saturday, March 7 at the Ramada Lafayette Conference Center in Lafayette,
LA. Topics covered will include, among others, innovations in archival management and
research digital history projects, the 300th anniversary of the founding of New Orleans,
Louisiana's horse culture, multi-ethnicity in the Crescent City, women in Antebellum
Louisiana, the Battle of New Orleans, free people of color, slavery, Solomon Northup,
the relationship between industrial and environmental history, and professional
wrestling. UL Lafayette professor Amos E. Simpson, who died last year, will be
memorialized in a panel discussion of his life and works.

Most people know Zachary Richard as a songbird. This month, Richard will bring all his
powers to tell the story of the Acadians once again, in a performance that will be musical,
theatrical and visual.
“It’s going to be a cross between Cirque du Soleil and Hal
Holbrook’s Mark Twain,” says Richard. Attakapas, the Cajun Story is the history of the
Acadian people, presented as a two-act play. Richard will perform the role of balladeer,
singing a song cycle of 17 original works. “I’m going to tell the story in the grand
Acadian Louisiana tradition of storytellers,” he says.
Which means humor infused
history. Attakapas, the Cajun Story will be shown at the Acadiana Center for the Arts on
March
26
and
27.
For
more
information,
(337)
233-7060,
http://acadianacenterforthearts.org/zachary-richard-presents-attakapas-story-cajunpeople.

North Rustico will get close to half a million dollars from the Canadian government to
further develop the town as an Acadian tourism destination. The federal government is
providing $270,500, while the P.E.I. government investing $175,000 for upgrades and
renovations to Seawalk Park. The improvements are designed to showcase the town’s
marine and Acadian Heritage and highlight its location at one of the P.E.I. National Park
entrances. North Rustico is one of six Acadian and Francophone regions recognized by
the province.

April Events at Vermilionville:
Saturday, April 11 | Cajun Jam | 1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Join Vermilionville for their weekly Cajun Jam, presented by Community Coffee
Company. The free jam, located in Vermilionville’s Performance Center, is led by some
of the area’s finest musicians is open to all skill levels, beginner to professional. Free
admission is for jam only and does not include entry to the park. For more info on the
jam host visit the events calendar at vermilionville.org. Special thanks to the Community
coffee for their sponsorship, as well as the Cajun French Music Association for additional
support!
Saturday, April 11 – Thursday, April 16 | Louisiana Folk Roots Balfa Week
Join Louisiana Folk Roots at Vermilionville for the 16th annual Dewey Balfa Cajun and
Creole Heritage Week. Balfa Week brings together a full lineup of classes, daily featured
artists and dance bands. Highlights include a dozen morning intensive classes each day
teaching all levels of fiddle, accordion, guitar and vocals; afternoon lagniappe sessions on
those topics and more including dance and cuisine; daily featured artists song-and-stories
sessions; evening dances with top Cajun and Creole bands and a free Sunday evening
jam. For more information, visit lafolkroots.org.

According to Phillip Gustin of the Lafayette city parish government, a delegation of some
25 mayors from large Francophone cities from Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe are
coming to Lafayette on March 29 and 30. These mayors are all members of the Board of
Directors of AIMF, the International Association of Francophone Mayors, which is
currently presided by Mrs. Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris. This visit marks the first time
this prestigious organization meets in the United States, and is the result of Lafayette’s
past involvement as the first city in the United States to become a member of AIMF.

Mathieu Despiau is a French documentary director who also works for a travel and
discovery TV show in France called Echappées Belles. This 90 minutes program has
been
broadcast
for
more
than
http://www.france5.fr/emissions/echappees-belles.
7
years
on
France
5.”
He would like to come back to
Louisiana and do a documentary on people born in France and chose to spend their lives
in Louisiana. He wants to see what attracts people to Louisiana. If you want to be in the
film, contact him (336 86 76 17 02).

Marty Guidry sends this information contained in their Guidry Family newsletter: “We
have discovered several additional dancehalls owned by the Guédry family, so we have
updated our earlier article and added new photographs. I didn’t realize the major impact
the Guédry family had on Cajun dancing and dancehalls in South Louisiana. Of course,
many of the bands playing in these dancehalls had Guédry musicians – adding to our
impact. If you know of other dancehalls owned by members of the Guédry or Petitpas
families anywhere in North America, please contact me at [email protected] so that we
can add them to our library for future updates.”

Anyone interested in Vermilion Parish history please note: There will be a restaging of a
local production to be performed at the Abbey Players theater in Abbeville. The play is
about Abbeville, the Franks Theatre, and the lives of some of the Abbeville residents in
the era of the '50's and '60's. Tickets are now available for the upcoming "In The Wake
of Time." The play is based on stories gathered throughout the parish and you will
recognize many names and old friends in this performance. Tickets can be purchased at
The Depot. 201 W. Lafayette from Tues-Friday, 10 am-5 pm, 337-740-2112 or by calling
337-652-2239 to make reservations, $15.00/ general admission.

Kathleen Ledet, Special Events Coordinator, Louisiana Children's Museum in New
Orleans has contacted us about this year’s Children’s World’s Fair.
They will
incorporate a small Acadian area. To create this Acadian corner, we will provide:
1. small display materials (posters, drawings, Acadian/Cajun props); and
2. kid-friendly handout about the Acadians (coloring sheet).
If you want to check out some examples of past Children's World's Fair country exhibits,
you
can
view
some
pics
here
to
get
a
better
sense
of
the
event:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151508891874900.1073741828.7778144
4899&type=3. To contact Kathleen, call 504-266-2415.

Crawfish Haven Mrs. Rose's Bed and Breakfast is having their open house at 6807 Hwy.
35, Kaplan, Louisiana on April 1st from 12:00 to 6:00. The ribbon cutting is at 5:00.
Jambalaya will be served. To learn more about them, visit http://crawfishhaven.net/.

I am part of the organizing committee to raise funds to restore the Acadian cathedral in
Moncton. The Acadian Museum will be the agent to receive the contributions from
individuals in the United States. The Moncton Cathedral Fundraising Campaign Launch
will take place at 10 AM, on Tuesday March 31st, 2015.

On the level of culture and identity, there are probably few regions of the United States
that are more cohesive than Acadiana. It is the heritage of the Acadian exiles of 250 years
ago in this country and also the legacy of the generations of newcomers — a phrase that
is purely relative, since statehood was more than 200 years ago — who have discovered
the beauty and productivity of the Acadian lands. A culture of French language and joie
de vivre has survived, even if there were for years misguided attempts to suppress the
patois of the original settlers. At the level of political clout, there seems to be little cause
for complaint since Edwin W. Edwards’ first election in 1972. The majority of
governor’s races since have been won by candidates from the region, and Acadiana is
seen as a significant player in the state Capitol, even if the top spots — governor, senate
president and house speaker — are not currently from the Lafayette area.

Nicholls State University will host the seventh annual Louisiana Swamp Stomp Festival,
a festival featuring Cajun music, food, culture and art, on March 20-22. For the third
year in a row, The Southeast Tourism Society named Swamp Stomp among its "Top 20
Events in the Southeast" for March 2015, said Kristen Anselmi, marketing and
communications
specialist
of
Auxiliary
Services
at
Nicholls.
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20150312/ENTERTAINMENT/150319898.

WEEKEND FOCUS: Mi-careme a uniquely Acadian affair - ANDREW RANKIN
CAPE
BRETON
BUREAU
Herald
News
Published March
14,
2015:
“It’s a bitterly cold night in Cheticamp, Nova Scotia. Inside Le Petit Chady, a warm and
inviting convenience store located in the heart of this Acadian fishing community, a
dozen or so locals wait. The tension is broken when three masked stragglers arrive: a
miniature Batman, a cloaked ghoul and a pregnant clown. Mi-Careme has commenced.
Food and fiddle tunes are plentiful. Just who’s who? That’s the challenge and the fun of
it all, and the guessing game starts. ‘It can only work in small communities where
everyone knows one another, otherwise it would have no meaning,’ said community
historian and genealogist Charlie Dan Roach, who watched the spectacle unfold. It is a
uniquely Acadian affair, a weeklong celebration held mid-Lent that is as much about
renewing community bonds as fulfilling religious duties. In fact, middle of Lent is the
English translation of Mi-Careme. A celebration born out of medieval Europe, it is an
occasion that historically served as a reprieve from the ordinarily strict period of penance
and deprivation. Cheticamp’s earliest French settlers were determined to keep it
alive. Besides Cheticamp, three Quebec communities celebrate the occasion with zeal:
Fatima, Isle-aux-Grues and Natashquan. Born out of the Acadian expulsion, Cheticamp
has survived. Isolated on what was considered inhospitable land, it was thought its people
would assimilate and their culture and language would disappear. They did not. And
neither has Mi-Careme.

Wayne Toups has won all kinds of awards in his career. Now, another first for him: he
has a canoe named after him. The Grammy-winning Cajun artist went to the University
of Louisiana at Lafayette campus to see a concrete canoe, constructed by civil
engineering students, be named in his honor before it goes to a concrete canoe
competition held by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The race will take place
Friday in Oxford, Mississippi, as the Ragin' Cajun students will face teams from LSU,
Ole Miss, Alabama, and others in speed and agility races.

The south Louisiana food blog Acadiana Table has been named a finalist in the
prestigious 2015 International Association of Culinary Professional awards. Acadiana
Table is one of three finalists in the Best Narrative Food Blog category of the IACP’s
digital wars. Found in 1978 by Julia child, Jacques Pepin and other notable culinary
professionals, the IACP is based in New York City and has more than 3,000 members in
32 countries. Acadiana Table launched in 2013 and has helped to shine a light on Cajun
and Creole food culture. The blog garners about half a million page views per year and
has a loyal fan base of thousands of subscribers.

The Louisiana Office of Tourism is accepting applications for the Louisiana Historical
Marker program, which commemorates facts, people, events and places prominently
identified with the history of the nation, state or region. Historical markers are privately
sponsored and funded. Any individual or group may nominate a location or occasion of
historical interest for historical marker commemoration. The applications must be
postmarked
by
May
20.
If
you
have
[email protected] or call 225.342.2876.
questions,
contact
Lynne
Coxwell

On March 17th, in celebration of World Francophone Week, I was honored to participate
in a wonderful symposium organized by Dr. Robin White of Nichols State University in
Thibodaux, along with Aurélie Champvert, Robert Desmarais Sullivan, Joseph Dunn,
Jean-Robert Frigault, Raymond Hinz, Rocky McKeon, Dr. Ibrahima Seck, Dr. Robin
White, Dr. Bani Ningbinnin, and Dr. Michèle Autherman. The subject was Louisiana:
where is la Francophonie?

Bonnie Taylor with John Carrol University in Ohio came to interview me on the
influence of discrimination and media portrayals on ethnic identity in Japanese, American
and Cajun communities.

On April 23, the LEH will recognize 2015 Humanist of the Year, Cokie Roberts, and
other award recipients at the Bright Lights Awards Dinner presented by Iberia Bank at
the Capitol Park Museum in Baton Rouge. Bone in New Orleans, Roberts is a political
commentator for ABC News, providing analysis for all network news programming.
Roberts also serves as Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio. She will give the
keynote address at the Bright Light Awards Dinner.

Though not an Acadian catholic church, it is so interesting that a church building from
the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia was bought and moved to Abita Springs in
Louisiana. Thanks to Phil Comeau for sending the story to us.
http://ici.radio-
canada.ca/regions/atlantique/2015/03/17/003-eglise-nouvelle-ecosse-louisiane.shtml.

According to Marlene Toups, from April 27 to May 6, the Thibodeaux Loudun Twinning
Association will host 36 visitors from Loudun, France. They have been twinned with
Loudun since 1978, which is the oldest active francophone twinning in Louisiana. They
plan on celebrating for 10 days – 250 years of Cajun culture in Louisiana and four
centuries of kinship, 17th century France to 21st century Louisiana.