It was at 3 o'clock on September 5th, 1755, that Lieutenant-Colonel John Winslow ordered the men and boys of Grand-Pré to meet in Saint-Charles-des-Mines church so that he could read them the Deportation Order. The Société Promotion Grand-Pré has organized a series of events to mark the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Deportation in Grand-Pré.

In collaboration with the theatre company Two Planks and a Passion, the Société Promotion Grand-Pré has invited the internationally renowned Acadian writer Antonine Maillet to give a talk on her epic novel "Pélagie-la-charrette" on September 5th, 2005. Thanks to the creative work of the composer Allen Cole and the writer Vincent de Tourdonnet, her famous novel has now been turned into a musical. Since "Pélagie" tells the story of the deportation, exile and return of a group of Acadians from Grand-Pré, it is not by chance that the musical will start its Maritime tour at Acadia University, located just a few kilometres from Grand-Pré. Symbolically, Pélagie will walk again on the lands of her ancestors, 250 years after she was forced to abandon them. The English version of the show starts at 8pm at Denton Hall on September 4th and the French version at 8pm on the 5th. Antonine Maillet's talk at Grand-Pré National Historic Site will be followed at 3pm by a reading of the Deportation Order, the raising of the Acadian flag and the singing of the Acadian Anthem, Ave Maris Stella, led by Mike Charlton.

As part of its mandate to promote Acadian history and culture related to Grand-Pré, the Société Promotion Grand-Pré is pleased to announce that every one will soon be able to do virtual digs at Grand-Pré. At 3:30pm, the archaeologist Jonathan Fowler will officially launch the new web site Archaeology @ Grand-Pré National Historic Site. With several hundred photos, this web site, designed especially for teachers and students, will enable amateur archaeologists to fully appreciate the results of the archaeological digs that have taken place at Grand-Pré over the years.

Just before the reception closing this day of commemoration, the members of the Board of Directors of the Société Promotion Grand-Pré will unveil a small-scale model of a commemorative sculpture for the 250th anniversary of the Deportation. The unveiling will launch the campaign to raise funds needed to complete this artistic project.

The program for the events at Grand-Pré National Historic Site on September 5th is as follows:

1:15pm Talk by Ken Schwartz and Vincent de Tourdonnet, Two Planks and a Passion

1:30pm Talk by Antonine Maillet

3:00pm Public reading of the Deportation Order, the raising of the Acadian flag and the singing of the Acadian National Anthem, led by Mike Charlton

3:30pm Official launching of the web site on the archaeological digs at Grand-Pré by Jonathan Fowler

4:30pm Unveiling of the model of the sculpture commemorating the Deportation

4:40pm Reception