Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
Residents can expect to hear plenty of noise on Wednesday, March 19 as the loudest cultural tradition in the province returns to Prince Albert.
The Societe canadienne-francaise de Prince Albert (SCFPA) expects between 500 and 600 students from French Immersion and French language schools to come out for Acadian cultural celebration Tintamarre.
The event will start at 10 a.m. in front of City Hall. Students from École Valois, École St-Isidore de Bellevue, École St Mary High School, École Vickers School and École Arthur Pechey are expected to attend.
“It’s (enjoyable) to see those all those kids show up from different schools (and) seeing they’re not alone,” said Soraya Ellert, the directrice générale for the SCFPA. “It’s just seeing the chemistry that happens between the youth. That’s great.”
The Tintamarre is an Acadian tradition where the community gathers to walk in the streets while making as much noise as possible, using improvised instruments and other such noise makers. This practice aims to demonstrate the vitality and solidarity of the community. It dates back to the middle of the 20th century.
The first Tintamarre was held in Moose Jaw five years ago. Ellert said attendance has steadily grown in Prince Albert since then.
“A lot of the students attending are from (French) Immersion and some are from the French schools themselves,” she explained. “It’s a good occasion for them to know French is there. You can have an activity in French and they discover French performers. There is a life out there when you are French.”
Part of the activities lined up includes a show with Shawn Jobin that will be offered at Plaza 88 at noon. Ellert said they were looking to add additional activities to the day.
“We didn’t want to just have a march and make noise and that,” Ellert said. “That’s nice, but we wanted to offer them (students) something fun too, which is attending a French music show.
“It shows them that there are French performers out there, and hopefully we’ll get them to have a listening ear to French music because our youth are all on Spotify and everything. It’s not as much radio anymore. They listen more and more to English music, so this is showing them that there are French performers out there.”
In a press release, the SCFPA said it is proud of this activity, which is fully within their mandate of ‘Bringing Francophones and Francophiles in the Prince Albert region together, making the French language accessible and discovering French-Canadian culture.
The SCFPA also thanked its main partners: Canadian Heritage, the Association des parents fransaskois, the Conseil des écoles fransaskoises and the City of Prince Albert.
The SCFPA is a non-profit organization that creates activities for its community in order to perpetuate the French language, the development of the new French-Canadian culture in the region and the affirmation of the pride of Francophones and Francophiles.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
Correction: a previous version of this story incorrectly stated Tintamerre was taking place on Tuesday, March 18. The correction date is Wednesday, March 19.
