École Père Mercure students and supporters gather outside city hall Friday to raise the Fransaskois flag to mark Francophonie Week in North Battleford. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff) : Angela Brown

By Angela Brown

Celebrating the Francophone community

NB celebrates Francophonie Week

Mar 1, 2019 | 3:56 PM

Local members of the Francophone community were in a festive mood outside city hall Friday for the official start of Francophonie Week in North Battleford.

École Père Mercure students, and Centre francophone des Battlefords representatives were among those taking part in raising the Fransaskois flag to mark Francophonie Week in North Battleford.

Mayor Ryan Bater officially proclaimed the week at the start of the ceremony.

“It’s great to have a week to celebrate the fact that they are an important part of the cultural fabric of the Battlefords,” he said.

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Bater added it is good to see so many students taking part in the ceremony who are studying in French and learning the French language.

The Fransaskois flag will fly outside city hall during the week.

Claude Desnoyers, Centre francophone des Battlefords board member, also took part in the ceremony. He is also a retired principal from École Père Mercure.

The Francophone centre located at the Don Ross Centre in North Battleford will have a variety of activities to mark Francophonie Week.

Desnoyers said the Francophone centre first spearheaded Francophonie Week in North Battleford.

He said there are many Francophone residents in the Battlefords. Throughout the month of March many communities will have a Francophonie Week to pay tribute to Francophone culture and language during the national celebration.

“It’s important for us to recognize the presence of Francophones in the area from the time of the fur traders, because they traveled on the river right past North Battleford,” he said.

Desnoyers said eventually more Francophone settlers began immigrating to the local area, encouraged to come to the Battlefords because there was plenty of land available.

“There has been a Francophone presence in the area since the 1800s,” Desnoyers said.

The Francophone community here wants to keep the language and the culture alive.

“It’s an evolving culture because more and more we have immigrants who are Francophone who move into all of the communities in Saskatchewan,” said Desnoyers. “We are enriched by the cultures they come with.”

The local Francophone Centre will host a Winter Carnival with a number of activities to mark the Francophone celebration on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Families can take part in Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides. As well, kids are also encouraged to bring their own sleds to go tobogganing near the Don Ross Centre.

Visitors can also enjoy some French Canadian pea soup as well as the traditional treat – Maple Taffy on Snow.

École Père Mercure will be holding a Winter Carnival next week at the school for students to celebrate the occasion.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow