Commemorative Walk at Grand-Pré on Saturday, September 5th

September 5, 2009

Grand-Pré, September 5, 2009: At 3 o’clock on September 5th, 1755, Lieutenant Colonel John Winslow read the Order of Deportation to the 418 men and boys held prisoner in St. Charles-des-Mines Church. And so began the Deportation at Grand-Pré. Over 1,500 Acadians were deported from the Grand-Pré region to Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia between October 8th and Decembre13th, 1755.

To commemorate the Deportation of the Acadians from Grand-Pré, there will be a reflective walk at Grand-Pré on Saturday, September 5th. The walk will go in the opposite direction from that taken by the Acadians in 1755. In other words, the walk will start in Horton Landing where the Deportation Cross is located and will end up at the Memorial Church in Grand-Pré National Historic Site.

People who would like to participate in this commemorative walk are invited to meet at 12:30 pm in the parking lot of the Visitor Centre so that they can car-pool to the Deportation Cross. The walk will start at one o’clock. As Jean Gaudet explains: “we want to be conscious of our place in the history of the commemoration of this event. We will stop to reflect about fifteen times before we reach the Memorial Church.” Mr Gaudet, a member of the Acadian Odyssey Commission and a municipal councillor in Dieppe, organized a similar walk in 2005. (If it rains, the walk will go from the Visitor Centre to the Memorial Church.)

The event will come to an end at 3 o’clock with a reading of the Order of Deportation, followed by the raising of the Acadian flag. Everybody is welcome.

Artist: Renée Forrestall ©

Mr Jean Gaudet can be contacted for an interview at (506) 854-8409.

Sally Ross
Media Relations
Société Promotion Grand-Pré
(902) 826-2981

The Société Promotion Grand-Pré is a non-profit organization representing the Acadian community that collaborates with Parks Canada to ensure the development and integrity of Grand-Pré National Historic Site.

Contact: Victor Tétrault
Executive Director, Société Promotion Grand-Pré
Phone: 902) 542-1952
Fax:902) 542-1691
WebSite: www.grand-pre.com