It was a very sweet weekend in Muskoseepi Park as hundreds joined The Canadienne-Française de l’Alberta Grande Prairie for its annual Maple Sugar Festival.
ACFA Board Director Genevieve Savard says she was so thrilled to see the turnout on Saturday, as she believes it’s vitally important to show off the vibrancy of the french culture in a region that holds thousands of Francophones.
“It’s very important to show the community we are still alive, and also to give a sense of belonging to all of our children who are learning this language,” she says.
“It’s not just in school you can live in french, listen to french music, and see that many people enjoying it and mixing with the anglophone community, it’s amazing.”
Savard says it is also important, as a minority community in the region, to work extra hard to show off their culture and to try and inspire people to be francophone and to be proud of it.
“It’s very hard to go against the majority, so it’s very important to them to see we are happy, and we are thriving,”
Activities over the weekend included the famous maple taffy, as well as horse-drawn carriage rides and public skating.