The skies of 17 communities have a little more pink than usual as flags of two flowers were hoisted during special ceremonies across the province on Friday morning. The symbolic Franco-Albertan flags, each featuring a fleur-de-lis and a wild rose, were raised to commemorate the start of the 12th annual National French Canadian Heritage Week, known in the authentic parlance as Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie.
This is the second year in a row the flags have been raised in Alberta in conjunction with the Rendez-vous. It is an initiative of the L’Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta (ACFA), the 84-year-old organization that calls itself the official voice of the francophone community in the province. This demonstration of unity is meant to be a rallying call to the province’s French-speaking communities to keep their histories alive while focusing their pride on the present and future at the same time.
As ACFA president Dolorèse Nolette explained, French cultural identity is important to promote because of Canada’s unique heritage but it’s very difficult to maintain outside of QuĂ©bec. The flag, developed in 1982, is only just now beginning to get its airtime.
“At that time there was a lot of social consciousness developing that was allowing us to better define ourselves, to want to have some kind of visible symbol of our identity. The flag gave us that.”
The flag is now fluttering in the breeze at St. Albert Place as well as prominent locations in other major francophone centres including Legal, Morinville, and the Canadian Forces Base in Namao. Nolette said the organization intends to continue the event’s growth so that it eventually covers every locality.
“We’re trying to create a province-wide ‘raising of the flag’ so that everyone in all the different regions of the province are celebrating at the same time. We’re working in close collaboration with the schools to create some momentum.”
The proof of that was evident as the St. Albert event was attended by a few hundred warmly dressed students from école la Mission, école Father Jan and école Alexandre-Taché.
According to ACFA, there are more than 68,000 Albertans who claim French as their native tongue and the provincial government estimates there are 225,000 in total who speak it. Although the statistics don’t indicate how much of that is concentrated around St. Albert and area, Nolette believes it’s a strong demographic, especially considering how many French settlers arrived here in the late 1800s. “I’m fairly certain that St. Albert would rank fairly high in proportion just because of the history.”
There are numerous events happening as a part of the Rendez-vous, many organized by the schools themselves. The 16-day celebration culminates on the weekend of March 20, otherwise known as the International Francophonie Day. Visit www.rvf.ca or francophone.alberta.ca for more information and details about events being held in conjunction with Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie across the province.
