Fêtons Quinze Août! Acadians celebrate national day

Acadians all over the Maritimes celebrated National Acadian Day, or Le Quinze Août as it is better known in New Brunswick, on Monday.

In Bouctouche, hundreds marched in the streets for the tintamarre to celebrate the holiday.

The large, vocal crowd made its way to nearby Le Pays de la Sagouine to continue the day-long celebration.

Le Pays de la Sagouine co-executive director Monique Poirier said it's a special event for the historic Acadian village.

"It's a day for Acadians, no matter where they're at, to connect with their roots, with the pride that they have, for their culture, for their language, for their ancestors, for their history," said Poirier.

Acadian Day has been celebrated on August 15 since 1881, the year the first national Acadian convention took place in Memramcook.

It's a day for Acadians all over the Maritimes and all over the world to gather and reflect on the past, but it's also an important day to talk about preserving their identity.

"I think it's very important for us to maintain our language and our culture," said Reg Hébert, who was visiting Bouctouche with his wife Diane. “One doesn't go without the other. You can't have the Acadian culture withouth the Acadian language.”

Kent South MLA Benoît Bourque was hosting his own party with newly elected New Brunswick Liberal leader Susan Holt. When asked about the state of the Acadian language in the province, Bourque said there's good and bad right now.

"We have our school system here, and that's going relatively well. That in itself is OK, but there's still a lot of work to be done in terms of recognizing French as an equivalent language of work and of play even within society," said Bourque.

Holt said it's important for Acadians to celebrate their history and culture.

"I think it's a great day to celebrate and demonstrate that this is a really special part of New Brunswick," said Holt. "This is an unique part of our history and our identity that should very much be strengthened and protected."