Grand-Pré Still Has Secrets to Reveal

May 5, 2009

Grand-Pré, May 5, 2009 – Over the past five years, the Société Promotion Grand-Pré has organized a series of four public lectures during Acadian Days at Grand-Pré National Historic Site. These talks give historians and other specialists the opportunity to share their research with members of the general public. This year, the talks will take place on Saturday, July 25th. Each of the talks is devoted to a little known aspect of Grand-Pré.

In the morning, the prize-winning Acadian poet Serge Patrice Thibodeau will talk in French about Lt.-Col. John Winslow, the officer in charge of the deportation at Grand-Pré. Basing his observations on Winslow’s own writings, Thibodeau will offer a new look at this historical figure.

Then Ronnie-Gilles LeBlanc, Parks Canada historian, will a talk in French on the documents that seem to indicate that Grand-Pré was not burned or destroyed as is often believed. He will attempt to describe what the Planters found when they arrived in 1760.

After lunch, Sara Beanlands will talk in English about Reverend Andrew Brown, a Scottish minister who worked in Nova Scotia in the late 1700s and who wrote the first known account of the Deportation. Sara is completing her Master’s Degree in History at Saint Mary’s University.

Wayde Brown, professor from the University of Georgia, will examine the work of the architect Percy Nobbs and his 1919 landscape plan which still defines the appearance of Grand-Pré National Historic Site. He will give his talk in English. The final activity of the day will be a tour of the gardens by Scott Crowell, chief gardener and the second generation of the Crowell family to ensure the beauty of Grand-Pré.

Grand-Pré National Historic Site opens for the tourist season on Saturday, May 16. Parks Canada and the Société Promotion Grand-Pré will be announcing shortly two new activities that will greatly enrich the summer program at Grand-Pré.

For further details on the Activities for 2009, please go to the Société Promotion Grand-Pré web site www.grand-pre.com. You will also find a list of accommodations for the Grand-Pré area.

For additional information, please contact Georges Arsenault, member if the Board of Directors of  Société Promotion Grand-Pré and president of the program committee: (902) 566-5067 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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