Fuchsia Dragon | [email protected]
March is Francophonie Month in Alberta, an opportunity to highlight the vibrancy and energy the Francophonie brings to the province.
And as part of Jasper鈥檚 festivities, our French and elementary schools joined together to raise the Franco-Albertan flag.
The ceremony opened with a rendition of Jean-Jacques Goldman鈥檚 Au Bout De Mes R锚ves by students from 脡cole Desrochers: Sahara Harvey, Cl茅a Sabourin, Maddox Radloff, Nikita Danvers, Soryn Price and Priscilia Rodriguez Froland.
Then Jasper Elementary School students Isla Shore, Sophie O'Mahoney and Casey Peel took to the stand to host the ceremony. They told the story of the Franco-Albertan flag, in French, while their classmates illustrated their words with paper props and movements.
The Franco-Albertan flag was created in 1982 as part of a competition organized by Francophonie jeunesse de l'Alberta.
The fleur-de-lis symbolizes French culture, the stylized wild rose and the blue represent Alberta, and the white signifies the worldwide Francophone community. The blue and white bands represent the waterways and routes used by the explorers and early settlers.
Speeches were given by Gerald Soroka, MP for West Yellowhead, and Nicole LeBlanc, a human resources manager at Parks Canada, on behalf of superintendent Alan Fehr.
Mayor Richard Ireland said: 鈥淲e appreciate all the Francophone community has done to add enrichment and value in our community. Your flag and your language both are used to carry on culture and we are so pleased your culture enriches our community culture.鈥�
And as the flag was raised, voices rang out singing the Canadian national anthem in French.
There are still a number of events coming up in Francophonie Month including a performance by French alternative-rock band Pascal Lecours et Les Mauvais Caract猫res at 4 Peaks on March 14 from 9 p.m.
Conf茅rence Nomad Junkies will be at the lobby of 脡cole Desrochers on March 16 at 7 p.m. and Il pleuvait des oiseaux, a French movie with English subtitles, will be shown at The Path, Hinton, at 6:30 p.m. on March 18.
The month wraps up with a beer and poutine night at Jasper Brewing Co on March 19 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
