It’s a big week coming up for lovers of Acadian history and culture.
Festivals Acadiens et Créoles kicks off Friday in Lafayette with a concert and celebration. Cajun musician and writer Zachary Richard is reprising his performance from the festival’s second year, 50 years ago, where he sang in French to a packed-out crowd in Blackham Coliseum and raised his fist in support of Cajun solidarity and pride.
Le Grand Réveil Acadien also begins this weekend, on Saturday. Billed as the “Great Acadian Awakening,” this weeklong event takes place every five years, and offers a deep dive into Acadian history that explains why Louisiana French traditions, music, food and language continue to be important to the region.
According to Dana Kress, a French professor at Louisiana’s Centenary College, south Louisiana’s French culture is one of the state’s most important resources. Ray Trahan, a longtime volunteer and advocate for Louisiana Acadian culture, said that when he first heard this, it fired him up to create something that would help Cajuns learn and remember their story.
“On Tuesday, we’re showing the ‘Birth of Cajun Culture’ play,” said Trahan. “It explains how the Acadians got started when they arrived down here. When people see it they say, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize all of this happened to our ancestors.'”
The play was written by lawyer and Cajun advocate Warren Perrin, who runs the Acadian Museum in Erath. It will be shown at Vermilionville in Lafayette at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, during the Grand Réveil Acadien “Families Day.”
Families Day will also feature local bands, a presentation on the Acadians of Louisiana from Zachary Richard, and a slew of family reunions held in the historic homes of Vermilionville — from Arceneauxs and Comeauxs, to Heberts, Legers and Richards.
Trahan said that he expects guests from all over the country for the Grand Réveil, and he just received word that several Canadian visitors are planning to travel down after hearing about the event at last year’s Le Congrès Mondial Acadien, or Acadian World Congress, in Nova Scotia.
Trahan and his wife were actually inspired to organize Le Grand Réveil in Louisiana after attending the first Acadian World Congress in New Brunswick in 1994. Both events take place every five years, with Grand Réveil occurring the year after Congrès Mondial. These gatherings bring Acadians from all over the world together to share language and culture, and deepen their understanding of their own history.
“My wife and I got addicted to learning about our Acadian heritage and culture,” said Trahan. Brenda Trahan was the longtime curator at the Acadian Memorial and Museum of the Acadians in St. Martinville, which will host several Grand Réveil events next week.
Trahan said, “As we found out more and more about my ancestors and the history of the Acadians, we visited areas of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec where our ancestors were deported from. We even went to France and saw the areas where they were sent. It just all gets in your blood.”
The Great Acadian Awakening, or Grand Réveil Acadien, begins Saturday, Oct. 11 with an opening day and cultural events in downtown Abbeville. The event continues through Saturday, Oct. 18 with talks, demonstrations, family reunions, music and more happening at locations around Lafayette and Acadiana, from St. Martinville to Thibodeaux. All Great Acadian Awakening events are free to attend, and the full schedule can be found at the Louisiane-Acadie website.