March is a busy time for Moose Jaw’s Francophone community, as it’s set to host a colourful parade, a tasty — and sugary — dinner, and an International Women’s Day forum.
The Association communautaire fransaskoise de Moose Jaw (ACFMJ) is hosting the seventh annual Tintamarre parade on Friday, March 15, at 10 a.m. The event starts in Crescent Park at the Athabasca Street East entrance and heads west along several streets to École Ducharme School, with the Moose Jaw Police Service providing an escort.
More than 500 participants from the Francophone community — including students, teachers and residents — will dress in bright colours like green and yellow and use various objects to make noise.
The five city schools that offer French-language instruction or French immersion are École Ducharme (Francophone), École Palliser Heights (immersion), École St. Margaret (immersion), Central Collegiate (immersion) and Vanier Collegiate (immersion)
Joining this joyful throng will be Police Chief Rick Bourassa, other senior officers, Mayor Clive Tolley, directors of Moose Jaw’s French-language schools, the director of the Association communautaire fransaskoise and other dignitaries.
Also expected to attend are native French speakers in the community and many new immigrants who speak French as their first language.
“We celebrate our Francophone pride in our minority language community, and the event is to invite all the community of Moose Jaw and from the area and to let them know that Francophone people live here,” said Christian Poumeni, the ACFMJ’s community officer.
Tintamarre — pronounced tint-a-mare —means racket, uproar or noise. It is a traditional Acadian French parade that brings people together with flags, costumes and various noisemakers. Despite its Acadian origins, Tintamarre now unites all French speakers in Canada.
Canada’s Acadian Tintamarre began in 1955 during commemoration ceremonies for the 200th anniversary of the British Expulsion of the Acadians. The Expulsion killed thousands of people during Britain’s war against New France.
During the ceremony in 1955, the Archbishop of Moncton invited attendees to make noise with whatever they could find; a journalist then described the sound as the heartbeat of French-speaking Canada two centuries after the attempt to extinguish it.
Sugar Shack dinner
The Association communautaire fransaskoise de Moose Jaw is hosting its traditional French-Canadian Cabane à sucre (Sugar Shack) dinner and dance on Saturday, March 23 at École Ducharme from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The dinner will feature chicken, potatoes, soup and the always popular — and event focus — maple taffy on snow, with a snow cone machine making the ice.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan musician Michel Vezina will perform afterward.
Tickets are on sale until Thursday, March 14. The cost is $15 per adult, $10 for youths aged 11 to 16, $5 for kids aged six to 10 and free for children under age five. The cost to attend just the dance is $10.
To purchase, call 306-691-0068.
The ACFMJ is making 100 tickets available for the event, and so far, it has sold more than 50, which means people should purchase them soon, said Poumeni.
“We are excited to organize Tintamarre and the sugar shack because these two activities are part of our flagship activities, which contribute to the development of our community and which make us proud as French speakers,” he added. “We would (also) like to take this opportunity to thank our funder, Canadian Heritage.”
Women’s Day event
To celebrate International Women’s Day, the Fransaskoise association is hosting a painting workshop and round table debate on Saturday, March 9, from 3 to 6 p.m. at École Ducharme on the theme “Housewives: A real job.”
The workshop starts at 3 p.m., while the debate starts at 5 p.m.
For more information, visit the ACFMJ’s Facebook page, https://acfmj.ca/, or email acfmoosejaw@gmail.com.
.png;w=124;h=120;mode=crop)
