Organizers of the International 2014 World Acadian Congress announced the first list of family reunion names last week. The reunions are a big part of the August 2014 Congress, held over two and a half weeks in northern Maine and northwestern Canada.

More than 50,000 visitors from as many as 40 countries are expected to attend the World Acadian Congress, held every five years. Among the reunion groups are some “lost families,” or names of families who may not know they are Acadians.

The congress is a chance for ancestors of the French Acadian colonial refugees of the 1755 British expulsion from Eastern Canada, called “le grand derangement” (the displacement), to reunite and learn more about their shared ancestry. Descendants of these displaced French families were scattered throughout North America and Europe during the displacement and now live in places all around the world.

One large colony of these French refugees found their way to Louisiana where they developed the local Cajun (slang for Acadian) culture and noted cuisine.

Acadians reuniting with their past helps them to understand they are all part of the same families sharing one heritage. They learn the pride of their heritage to pass on to younger generations, says Don Levesque, a WAC committee leader.

“Acadians have been without an official homeland since 1755. However, there are pockets of Acadians pretty much all over North America and throughout the world. Family reunions are a homecoming for Acadians,” Levesque said. “They are rare opportunities to reconnect with our culture, our history, our heritage and to celebrate the fact that we are not alone.”

The first 61 names for the reunions were announced on Jan. 5 at an international press conference in New Brunswick. Each family name is linked to a particular location where events for their members will be coordinated.

For example, reunions for the Picard family are planned for Madawaska. The Gauvin family is directed to events in Van Buren. Family names Talbot/Gervais are centered in Ste Agatha, and so on. Many reunions will be held in New Brunswick or Quebec.

For example, activities are planned in Saint Quentin, New Brunswick, for the Savoie family – the name of my husband’s grandmother. Most of my husband’s Franco-American family did not realize their paternal grandmother, Lumina Savoie, was, in fact, a descendant of Acadians, until a genealogist disclosed this to us.

Many families will go to more than one location because their shared genealogies consist of multiple names. Along with location, each of the individual family reunion committees will appoint a person designated to work on housing for the guests. Leaders of each family group will meet regularly with the larger organizing committees to discuss the schedules and preparations for all the WAC events.

A complete list of the first series of approved names and locations is available from Michelle Daigle, coordinator of the 2014 Family Reunion Task Force at the email Michele.daigle@umoncton.ca. More information is available at www.cma2014.com.
 

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