Acadians observe Aug. 15

La Ville de Saint-Martin – Les Acadiens de partout dans le monde, et aussi la Louisiane et la Ville de Saint-Martin, fêteront leur langue, leur culture et leur héritage le 15 aout, la Fête Nationale des Acadiens.

Acadians from around the world, and including Louisiana and St. Martinville, will be celebrating their language, culture and heritage on Aug. 15, la Fête Nationale des Acadiens, the National Day of the Acadians.

According to Michelle Johnson, curator and director of the Acadian Memorial, the day’s activities begin at 10 a.m. with a table française (French table) and will end with a procession of family banners to St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church for a special French Mass. A special exhibit will commemorate 20 years since the commission of Robert Dafford’s mural, “The Arrival of the Acadians in Louisiana”.

The day continues with a film presentation, children’s activities, and a plant, herbal lore and garden tour. Théâtre Cadien will also be there bringing mural characters to life, and the 75-foot scroll of the Martin Family Genealogy will be unveiled for the first time since the 1999 Congrès Mondial Acadien (World Acadian Congress).

Although the 15th of August has been celebrated by Acadians since it was chosen as the national day by a convention of Acadians in New Brunswick in 1881, the annual celebration in Louisiana started after the first Congrès Mondial Acadien held in New Brunswick in 1994.

The Acadians chose Aug. 15 as its national feast day, also the Feast of the Assumption, to honor their Catholic ties and their ties to France and the Virgin Mary. France chose Mary as its patron in the 17th century. There are a series of Acadian festivals around Acadie du nord (Eastern provinces of Canada) leading up to Aug. 15.

For those interested in carrying a family banner in the procession, contact the Acadian Memorial at (337) 394-2233. For more information on the day’s activities, contact Michelle Johnson at (337) 394-2258 or at mvjohnson@acadianmemorial.org.