Vishten provides music for a new promotional video
WELLINGTON – May 27, 2020 – Three bilingual tourist attractions from PEI have just been added to RDÉE Canada’s national francophone Heritage, Culture and Tourism Corridor. With the addition of the historic Our Lady of Mont-Carmel Church, the Abram-Village Handcraft Co-op and The Lobster Shack à Gilles à Alva, there are now 19 Island sites on the https://corridorcanada.ca bilingual portal.
In addition, some of the Island attractions that were already listed have updated their photos.
On the occasion of Tourism Week (May 24 to 31), RDÉE Canada announced that the Corridor now includes 402 businesses that offer services in French. In addition, it showcases more than 130 historic sites and 160 tourist destinations throughout all Canadian provinces and territories.
The national network notes that 2020 will be “a very gloomy year for the tourism industry, which has been particularly hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis.” In fact, many of the businesses in the corridor (including many of the 19 from the Island) will not open their doors or will offer reduced services to a small and rather local clientele. Those planning to visit these tourist locations are requested to contact the businesses directly in advance to confirm their status and hours of operation. Contact information is listed on each member’s individual pages.
However, RDÉE Canada and its provincial and territorial partners still want to celebrate the week because “Tourism is an important driver of the Canadian economy and we must ensure its sustainability!” In fact, in regular times, Canadian tourism represents more than 1.8 million jobs, more than 21 million international visitors and no less than 225,000 businesses of all sizes across the country.
VISHTEN AND VIDEO
A short video entitled « Rêve ton Canada en français! » was produced to highlight many of the Corridor’s attractions from one end of the country to the other. Among other things, it shows PEI’s Bottle Houses, the Acadian Musical Village and handcrafted wares from the Abram-Village Handcraft Co-op. The instrumental piece “Tempête des glaces”, by well-known PEI band Vishten, is used as background music for the video. (https://www.facebook.com/RDEECanada/videos/1353081784883849/)
The Corridor is a select range of Francophone heritage, cultural and tourism products, located throughout Canada, that offer visitor services in French. Its portal allows visitors to build their individual itineraries as they plan trips in French from one end of the country to the other.
The Corridor also features the “National Classification of Services in French”, which was created to inform visitors on the level of service they will receive during their visit to tourist sites. It is broken down into three levels: Services in French at all times; Services in French upon request; and Promotional items and/or documentation available in French.
Here is a more detailed overview of the three Island additions to the Corridor.
OUR LADY OF MONT-CARMEL HISTORICAL CHURCH (8 photos)
Known for its enchanting site and imposing architecture, the centennial Our Lady of Mont-Carmel Church is located on the edge of the Northumberland Strait. Many visitors come each year to contemplate the beauty of this church. It was in 1898 that the parishioners built this church, the third on the same site. Father Pierre-Paul Arsenault, who arrived in the parish in 1896, is recognized as the great promoter of the construction of this beautiful temple, a spacious red brick church to accommodate the growing population. To do so, the parish priest hired architect René P. LeMay of Lotbinière, Québec, to prepare the plans for this temple, which would soon be classified as one of the most beautiful religious buildings in the province.
Four hundred and fifty thousand bricks were made on site for the construction which would cost $75,000. On July 3, 1898, the blessing of the cornerstone took place. The exterior of the building was completed by January 1, 1899 when its blessing took place. Over the following few years, the interior decorations would be completed. In 2003, Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel Church was added to the Prince Edward Island Register of Historic Places. Distinguished by its longevity and beauty, it remains one of the most beautiful churches in the province.
ABRAM-VILLAGE HANDCRAFT CO-OP (7 photos)
The Abram-Village Handcraft Co-op was established more than half a century ago to sell handicrafts made by artisans in the Evangeline region. Since its inception, the Cooperative has sold only handcrafted items produced in Prince Edward Island (the majority of which are from the Evangeline region).
Today, the Cooperative has about sixty active members who provide a beautiful variety of products that are always handmade using often traditional methods learned from their parents or grandparents, but sometimes with a more modern flair. Among the items on sale are paintings, knitted products, weaving, quilts, embroidery pieces, crocheted rugs, clothing, recycled denim products, pottery, turned wooden objects, toys, souvenirs and many more. Some of the products are made in the colors of the Acadian flag to reflect local Acadian culture and traditions, and even traditional Acadian shirts are sold.
The co-operative is also the place where the group of artisans “Les Doigts magiques” meets one afternoon a week to make quilts, cushions and other products to sell for the benefit of the craft.
THE LOBSTER SHACK À GILLES À ALVA (10 pictures)
The Lobster Shack is a restaurant-bar, located in Mont-Carmel, where lobster is the specialty, but where we also find an attractive menu with a good variety of choices to satisfy all tastes. Located by the sea, in a cottage-style building decorated with a fishing theme, with nets and beautiful photographs of local fishermen greeting customers upon their arrival.
The bar is surmounted by a straw umbrella, which is all made of natural wood, giving the resto-bar a beach atmosphere. The bar also offers guests the opportunity to sample local beers produced by one of Prince Edward Island’s renowned microbreweries. The Lobster Shack also offers a terrace where guests can enjoy the beauty of the sea and the beautiful sunsets while enjoying their meals outdoors with soft background music.
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For more information:
Ricky Hitchcock
PEI Contact
Francophone Heritage, Culture and Tourism Corridor
ricky@rdeeipe.org