ABRAM-VILLAGE – July 22, 2022 – It’s official: the Evangeline Area Agricultural Exhibition and Acadian Festival will return in its full glory from Sept. 1 to 4, 2022, in Abram-Village. The traditional ambassadors of the event, the characters of Evangeline and Gabriel (Diane and Alfred Arsenault of Abram-Village), invite all Island residents and visitors to participate in the many shows, festivities, dances, exhibits and contests of the weekend, all under the theme « Let’s Celebrate in Style! »

The duo confirms that this is the 119th edition of the Exhibition and the 51st edition of the Festival; the event will obviously pay tribute to the cultural traditions of the local Acadian community but will also feature several components that are quite modern. Here is an overview of the event schedule.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 1

The weekend will begin Thursday with a family night on the fairgrounds from 6 to 8:30 p.m. It will include games, mini parade, lumberjack competition, boot-throwing contest and music for children (who will be accompanied by their parents). An evening of music, dance and games for teenagers (13-18 years) will follow in the Exhibition Barn from 8-11 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 2

The grounds will open Friday at 8 am. The day will begin with judging of various agricultural categories (grains, vegetables, fruits, crafts, etc.) and miniature horses. In the early afternoon, there will be judging of 4-H projects as well as cooking demonstrations. The official opening ceremony of the weekend will take place at 1:15 p.m. on the main stage and will include a small show with Jeannita Bernard (performing the Festival theme song), the band En Route and other musicians.

The provincial finals of the PEI Youth Talent Competition will take place at 2:30 p.m. on the indoor stage. At the same time, on the outdoor stage, there will be a show by the fantastic magician and illusionist Rémi Boudreau (who will have circulated on the grounds earlier in the afternoon to perform magic tricks here and there). This will be followed by the Provincial Youth Boot Tossing Championships.

The Small Animal Farm will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (as it will be on Saturday and Sunday). The Founders’ Hall and Artisans’ Hall will be open from 2 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday.

The evening will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the « Acadian Feast with Lobster » (Festin acadien avec homard) at the Village musical acadien. Guest Chef Pierre A. Richard of Little Louis’ Oyster Bar in Moncton, NB, will attend. The delicious meal will consist of vegetable soup, galettes blanches, râpure, meatpie, lobster, potato salad and dessert. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by Louise Arsenault and Jonathan Arsenault and well-known host Georges Arsenault. Tickets can be purchased online at https ://fallflavours.ca/signature-event/le-festin/. There is a discount for those who purchase before Aug.1.

The day will end on a wonderful note with the « Djâble dans l’corps » Acadian evening featuring the high-energy country-rock-acadian-cajun music of popular New Brunswick singer Hert LeBlanc. He’ll have everyone up and dancing in no time.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 3

Saturday will begin with the opening of the grounds, again at 8 am. This will be followed at 9 a.m. by draft horse judging, the Acadian Festival Run (at École Évangéline) and the PEI Provincial Holstein Show. The rabbit and pre 4-H class judging will follow. Throughout the day, there will also be potato peeling, lobster eating and knitting contests, as well as demonstrations by the Clammin’ N’ Jammin’ chefs and other culinary demonstrations. Bingo will run throughout the afternoon from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

At 1 p.m., a large new multi-purpose center will be officially opened; the building will serve as the horse barn for the weekend.

Magician Rémi Boudreau will take over the outdoor stage at 1 p.m. There will also be a children’s show at 4 p.m. by Mad Science (Sciences en Folie), which presents scientific experiments with dry ice and elephant toothpaste.

The past will be revisited at 1:30 p.m. during a bilingual talk entitled « Photos from the past in the Evangeline region » by historian Georges Arsenault in the Founders’ Hall. On the main stage in the recreation centre at 2 p.m., attendees will be able to see and hear the wonderful high-energy music of the beautiful and talented Jos Narcisse family.

A woodsmen competition will also begin at 2 p.m. As a special treat, pole climber Jerry Arsenault will come out of retirement to perform a mini solo show, dancing on top of a 100-foot pole and swinging over the heads of the crowd. The Provincial Horse Pulling Championship and the Provincial Adult Boot Tossing Championship will also be featured on the afternoon schedule.

Finally, people will be able to enjoy and dance to the fantastic Acadian music of the group Réveil from New Brunswick (in its 13th appearance at the Festival) during the Évangéline et Gabriel Dance, starting at 10 p.m.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 4

The grounds will open to the public on Sunday at 9 a.m. Light horses and ponies will be judged. People will be able to try their luck at axe throwing in a cage. Bingo will be offered in two blocks, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then from 2 to 5:30 p.m.

The famous Festival parade will be back this year Sunday at 1 p.m., running the distance from Evangeline School to the Club 50. The afternoon will continue with oxen judging and the opportunity to test one’s strength with a mallet-and-bell device. The Mad Science show will again take place at 2:30 p.m.

Then at 2:30 p.m., the very popular fiddle and stepdancing show will be presented on the main stage. At the same time, outside, there could be woodsmen competitions (again with special guest, pole climber Jerry Arsenault) as well as fishers’ and firefighters’ competitions.

Also in the afternoon, there will be craft demonstrations, a lobster-eating competition, an all-terrain vehicle competition, a repeat of the historical photo talk with Georges Arsenault, the cow patty bingo, viewing of photos and videos of past exhibitions and festivals in the arena, and finally competitions in fishing line casting, turnip bowling and golf putting.

At 6:30 p.m., final announcements will be made and various prizes will be presented, including the Young Acadian of the Year Award and Acadian of the Year Award. The weekend will end with a bang at the closing show, themed « Celebrating Our Community. »

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PHOTO 1: The traditional characters of Evangeline and Gabriel (Diane and Alfred Arsenault of Abram-Village) invite everyone to participate in the 2022 Agricultural Exhibition and Acadian Festival. They will no doubt be seen walking the grounds here and there throughout the weekend of September 1 to 4.

PHOTO 2: The Thursday evening of the Acadian Festival will be reserved for children and teenagers. A great variety of activities, including races and competitions, will be organized.

PHOTO 3: At a recent Acadian Feast With Lobster (Festin acadien avec homard), held on Saturday night of the Acadian Festival, are, from left, feast-goers Claudette MacQuaid, Monique Arsenault and Carmen (Arsenault) Moore.

PHOTO 4: Pierre Arsenault of Abram-Village always comes up with some kind of vehicle or mobile contraption of some kind for the Acadian Festival Parade. Last year, for the “reversed parade”, he had assembled this dancing and bouncing Volkswagen.

 

For more information, please contact
Jeanne Gallant
President
Evangeline Area Agricultural Exhibition and Acadian Festival
Residence: 902-854-3287
Cell: 902-432-0809
E-mail: expositionfestival@gmail.com or gallant.jeanne22@gmail.com