Everyone is welcome to experience French Canadian culture in Bonnyville September 21 as part of Alberta Culture Days.
The Association Canadienne Française de l’Alberta (ACFA) Bonnyville – Cold Lake region is hosting an event to celebrate and enjoy local French music, food, crafts, and more. The event will be bilingual—you don’t need to speak French to participate.
Christine St. Laurent, ACFA regional director, says the food will be a highlight.
“We’ll have tasting stations as well as many cooking classes where people can receive instructions on different recipes that they’ve tasted, or just basic recipes of the Francophone culture so that you can take a recipe home and try it on their own,” she said.
Among the foods to sample will be the famous French Canadian tarte au sucre, or sugar pie. Participants get to sample the pies, which will be judged with the winner representing Bonnyville – Cold Lake in the provincial sugar pie bake-off in Edmonton October 19.
St. Laurent says sugar pie recipes and techniques have been kept in families for generations.
“Most French families will have a recipe that has been handed down from mother to daughter year after year,” she said.
There will also be an opportunity to learn the craft of hand-weaving and to make a traditional Franco-Albertan sash, among other fun and educational activities.
“Les Troubadours du Far West”—Daniel Gervais and Roger Dallaire, from St. Paul and St. Vincent respectively—will perform songs and stories in the western and folk traditions. St. Laurent says they have been performing as soloists and as a duo for years.
“They collaborate and bring out music and stories about the olden days, and they throw in some relatable stories and music,” she said.
The whole idea of the event is not just for francophones to celebrate together, but to share their culture with their friends and neighbours.
“Anybody from any language and any background is fully welcome to come, whether you’re francophone or ‘franco-curious,’” she said.
For more information, please see the ad on page 6 of this week’s Respect.