Annual Acadian Memorial Festival 2006 - March 18th - Saint Martinville, LA

A Museum Festival with Arts, Heritage, History, Music, Cuisine
Saint Martinville, LA
March 18th - 10 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. -

Annual Acadian Memorial Festival 2006 / Theme: 400th Anniversary of L'Ordre du Bon Temps (Order of Good Cheer) Origin of the famous French social eating club started in 1604 at Port Royal, Acadie present day Nova Scotia, Canada.
No Charge, please purchase a festival pin.

The festival is a reunion of all families Acadian and their friends for:
A Reenactment of the Acadians Arrival in Louisiana on the Bayou Teche: Honoring the Broussard and Hebert Acadian family names, adult and save Our History Grant children Theatre; Story Telling, Cultural Activities: Cajun Food Demonstrations , Genealogy, Lectures, Art & Crafts, Acadian Tradition Exhibits and Demonstrations, Wooden Boat Exhibit on the Bayou Teche, and more.

Cajun Music featuring "The Miller Cajun Family Band" and "Moi-J'aime-Ca-Comme-Ca" ( I like it like that ) and more. Please join in the fun and dress in Acadian Costume.

During the Acadian Memorial festival we will pay homage to the founders of the L'Ordre de BonTemps in Acadia, men who prepared feasts for their friends, from the bounty of their new land, in 1606 and for those men in Louisiana who continue the similar tradition of cooking game and fish 400 years later! The Acadian Memorial Festival cooks and demonstrators of Cajun cuisine will be declared honorary chefs of the day! This event will bring forth the Louisiana social eating club of the "L'Ordre de Bon Temps" Nouvelle Acadie, Louisiana's Game & Fish Club. In October, 2006 at the Acadian Memorial Annual Fund Raiser, a reenactment of this historical event will open membership into this historic gourmet club.

For more information call the Acadian Memorial, 337.394.2258 or
Festival Chairman, Ray Trahan - 337. 288.2681

FYI: L'Ordre de Bon Temps

" The Order of the Good Time or (Good Cheer) is the first social club in America, was originally established at Port-Royal, Acadie, present day, Nova Scotia, Canada, by Samuel de Champlain in 1606. The purpose of the club was to provide entertainment and satisfy hearty appetites during the long, harsh Acadian winter. There were 15 gentlemen in the company and each took a turn being host for the day. The host designed his menu on the day's hunt. Generally, the men enjoyed huge moose or caribou roasts as well as smaller game such as beaver, porcupine and rabbits. In fact, moose and beaver's tail were highly regarded for their tenderness and delicate flavors. Waterfowl, ruffled grouse, partridge and other birds were plentiful. Trout, cod and lobsters were speared through the ice for the dinner fare as well.

The men completed to provide the most sumptuous meal for their comrades. If the day's hunt was not as successful as hoped, the host traded with local tribesmen for sufficient fare. Usually, these Micmac Indians joined in the elaborate banquet. That evening, the host wore the Insignia of the Order and Paraded in grandeur to the dinning hall with each comrade carrying a delectable platter of food. Once the meal was enjoyed, the men told stories and sang. A toast with wine completed the evening's events and the Insignia of the Order was passed to the successor. Thus began American's first gourmet's club in Acadia!