The New Brunswick Arts Board is an arm’s length arts funding agency with a legislated mandate to facilitate and promote the creation of art as well as administering funding programs for professional artists in the province.
The Congrès mondial acadien (CMA) 2019
Réanne Cooper, Communications Officer
The Congrès mondial acadien (CMA) is hosted every 5 years in different areas of the World. This year, it was held in southeast New-Brunswick as well as Prince Edward Island. This was also a special year for the CMA because this 6th edition also celebrates its 25th anniversary. Francophones, francophiles, Acadians, Cajuns from all over the World make their way to the CMA in order to celebrate their language, culture and heritage. The ultime goal of the CMA, as described on the CMA 2019 website is to “strengthen the ties that unite all Acadian communities throughout the world, all while showcasing a modern and authentic Acadian identity.”
This 14-day event is a great opportunity for Acadian artists to showcase their work through multiple events and venues, and allows people from all over the world to experience the culture. Amongst many regional, national and international artists present throughout the two weeks, there are plenty of artists who are our very own New Brunswick artists. During the show of the “15 août”, there was Maggie Savoie, Lisa LeBlanc, Les Hay Babies, Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire, Jass-Sainte Bourque, just to name a few, who also happen to be some past artsnb grant recipients! It was great to see artists continue to grow their career and take on new challenges. An event such as the Congrès mondial acadien is a great opportunity for our province to host and I was glad to have been able to be there on August 15th, 16th and 17th to see and participate in some of the festivities.
The 15th I first attended the finale of Accros de la Chanson at Place 1604 in Dieppe. This was a great venue with lots of young talented musicians all competing for the big first place title! Later on in the afternoon was the big Tintamarre. This is a public celebration where everyone gets together, dressed in blue, white, red and yellow and made lots and lots of noise, walking down Champlain Street in Dieppe. There were so many people, young and old, celebrating and cheering for l’Acadie! Finally, the Tintamarre ended at the UNI Coopération financière Stage where multiple artists put on a great show to end the day.
On August 16th, I attended the show of the 25th anniversary which was highlighting 25 different artists. This was another great scene showcasing some new artists from the night before.
Finally, my last day at the Congrès mondial acadien, I attended a pre-screening of LE PRINCE DE L’ACADIE, a documentary, filmed and prepared entirely by a team of Acadians, predominantly from New-Brunswick. This documentary explores the Acadian diaspora in the younger generations and what will the future of Acadie look like.
As the Congrès mondial acadien 2019 comes to an end this weekend, I hope that you all were able to experience it, either in person or through social media. There is still the big closing show happening in Shediac this Saturday!
That’s all for now, have a great weekend.
Réanne Cooper, Communications Officer
