New Brunswick, Caraquet: Acadian Coast TravelVideoPostcard

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• published: 29 Oct 2011
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http://www.youtube.com/travelvideo www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca www.festivalacadien.ca New Brunswick Canada, Caraquet: Acadian coast Travelvideo Postcard by Wendie Hansen New Brunswick is the only officially bi-lingual province in Canada....It wasn't always so, but along the northern coast the British and French heritage now stand in peaceful proximity... At some point, the Maple leaf, bows to the Stella Maris...the flag of Acadia...and if you happen to be in the Caraquet the first two weeks of August put your English aside and just be Acadienne! But every year in an act of cultural affirmation, the Acadian communities of New Brunswick ( www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca) celebrate who they are and their rich, unique traditions with a massive celebration of song and dance. It's a Canadian Maritime Mardi Gras (Acadian style)  in mid-August, with foot stomping music, fantastic masks, poetry readings, parades, and lots of color. The Festival Acadien ( www.festivalacadien.ca) is  Acadian life, culture and pride on display throughout the Acadian Peninsula, the upper coastal reaches of New Brunswick. You can feel it and see it as soon as you cross into Grande-Anse, a small community on the Chaleur Bay, a three or so hour ride from busy, cosmopolitan  Moncton. The Stella Maris, the flag of the sea. The flag of Acadia. It's on telephone poles, baby carriages. It flutters from brightly colored fishing boats bobbing in small, working harbors. The "Hello's" give way to musical "Bon Jours," and although New Brunswick is the only Maritime province that's officially bilingual (Quebec is officially French), in these towns, French is what travelers hear. The town of Caraquet has maybe 4,500 people in it. It's tucked into a cove, and like all the towns here, hugs the broad arc of coast that surrounds New Brunswick. It's the designated center for the Acadian National celebrations. Wendie Hansen Sakakeeny is a travel writer, photographer and videographer, one of the developers of Travel Video Postcards as well as a respected Boston Voice Over Talent . The first woman to narrate a Nova for PBS, she is a regular descriptive narrator for WGHB Boston and the first to automate the New England Telephone system: she can be reached at wendiestvp@gmail.com