February 7, 2008<\/p>\n
Not just for families with Acadian roots! The Congr\u00e8s mondial acadien family reunions are for all families interested in Acadie.<\/p>\n
By CAROL DOUCET<\/p>\n
Numerous families are planning to get together during the next Congr\u00e8s mondial acadien (World Acadian Congress) set for August 7 to 23, 2009 in New Brunswick\u2019s Acadian Peninsula. Some Acadian families will not only be hosting their own members but will also welcome families interested in Acadie.<\/p>\n
As of today, more than sixty families have officially registered for the event and twenty more are expected to do so in the coming months. Themed \u201cThey\u2019re Here!\u201d these reunions will be celebrated on different dates and in different locations throughout the P\u00e9ninsule Acadienne.<\/p>\n
A 2009 Congr\u00e8s mondial acadien (CMA) Guide to Family Reunions has been produced to help support the people responsible for planning and implementing of the reunions. The CMA website (www.cma2009.ca) is the place to get all relevant information such as the list of registered families (dates and locations included), non-registered families, the planning guide, the schedule of reunions, meeting summaries, tips for organizing your family reunion as well as e-postcards for registered families that can be sent anywhere in the world to invite your relatives.<\/p>\n
Two lists of family names are available on the website. The first list is composed of 18th century families and the second of popular P\u00e9ninsule family names that weren\u2019t on the initial 18th century list. Please note that the Congr\u00e8s mondial acadien family reunions do not exclude non-Acadian families but are rather inclusive of all families interested in Acadie.
\nRegistered Families<\/p>\n
Numerous families are already registered and have decided on their dates and locations : Arseneau-Arseneault-Arseneaux-Arsenault, Babineau & Granger , Basque-Bastarache-Bastrash, Belliveau, Blanchard, Boudreau, Bourgeois, Bourque, Breau-Breault-Breaux, Chevarie, Chiasson, David, Doiron, Dozois, Dugas, Duguay, Elward, Ferron, Finn, Forest, Frigault, Gautreau, Gauvin, Gionet, Girouard-Giroir-Gerrior, Godin, Guedry-Labine-Petitpas, Hach\u00e9 & Gallant, Landry, Lanteigne, L\u00e9ger & Trahan, Losier-Lausier-Lauzier-Lozier, Maillet, Mallet, Martin, Mazerolle, Morais, No\u00ebl, Paulin-Poulin, Pinet-Pinette, Plourde, Power, Prince, Richard, Rioux, Robichaud, Saindon-Sindon, Saulnier-Sonier, Savoie, Th\u00e9riault and Thibodeau.<\/p>\n
Other families have shown an interest to meet but have yet to create an organizing team. This is the case for the Allain, Babin, Barriault, Boucher, Butler, Cormier, Daigle, Dupuis, Gagnon, H\u00e9bert, Larocque, Lebreton, Lumbsdun, MacLaughlin, Roussel and Roy families. While the purpose is not to exclude any families, the CMA team is actively looking for information on some specific families. Therefore, they are calling for people who would be interested in organizing the following reunions: Albert, Benoit, Bordage, Brideau, Brun, Caissie, Cl\u00e9ment, Collette, Comeau, Dignard-Guignard, Doiron, Doucet, Gaudet, Gosselin, Jean, Kenny, Leblanc, Lebouthillier, McGraw, Melanson, Pallot, Pellerin, Poirier, St-Pierre, Surette, Vautour and Ward.<\/p>\n
These reunions can be simple one-day events or elaborate two or three day extravaganzas. It\u2019s up to you to decide what best suits your family. Lots of families still haven\u2019t started getting organized and to increase the participation of more families, there is no deadline to register. We are constantly recruiting and want all to know that everyone is welcome. If a family wants to be matched with another that\u2019s no problem! Any form of alliance is accepted and do-able!<\/p>\n