Acadian Centre Opens

Rendez-vous de la Baie, a new Acadian cultural and interpretive centre, is open on the Universite Sainte-Anne campus in Church Point.

The Municipality of the District of Clare operates the centre, which has its own entrance, featuring a bright red roof facade jutting from the university’s library building.

Nicole Boudreau, the centre’s operations manager and the municipality’s tourism development officer, said the facility will be open year-round, seven days a week.

A cafe and art gallery are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The region’s tourist bureau, a boutique and interpretive halls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"We really wanted to get a lot of services and elements that people would enjoy in one spot," Boudreau said after the centre’s official opening Friday.

Visitors can shop for crafts at the boutique and learn more of the history of Clare’s Acadian settlers and their descendants. Genealogy information is also at hand.

"We have the art gallery as well, which brings in a lot more people."

Displays running through September feature New Brunswick artist Anne-Marie Sirois.

The centre is popular with university students, residents and passing visitors.

The cafe serves homemade desserts, organic and fair trade coffees and teas, as well as regular tea and specialty coffees.

Seating at the centre, which includes comfortable cafe tables and club chairs in adjacent lounge areas, accommodates about 40 people.

"It’s a very wonderful partnership, actually, with the university," Boudreau said. "We made use of an underutilized building, so they were really pleased to have something going on here."

The centre leads, via a linking corridor, to the university’s performing arts theatre, which features an orchestra pit and a large cinema screen.

But the cornerstone is the interpretive centre, which tells the story of the district of Clare, a post-deportation settlement where returning Acadians settled in the latter part of the 18th century, beginning in 1768.

"When we came back, we had no more land, so they gave us this lot of land next to the shore and we said OK," said Boudreau. "We made the best of it and we’ve been here for 242 years."

Audiovisual displays, three-dimensional models and artifacts from the Acadian region’s early days are preserved.

The project is worth about $1.5 million.

The federal government, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, contributed $857,000, said a news release.

The municipality put in more than $300,000 over three years and additional money before that for the concept design, said Boudreau.

The university has contributed resources and cash.

Several jobs have been created as well, said Boudreau.

By BRIAN MEDEL

The Halifax Chronicle Herald
Mon, Aug 16, 2010