Intelligent horse, young musicians and fiddles
ABRAM-VILLAGE – Aug. 16, 2016 – As always, traditional Acadian music and highly entertaining variety shows will be an integral part of the Evangeline Area Agricultural Exhibition and Acadian Festival, being held this year Sept. 1-4 in Abram-Village.
“Again this year, we’ll offer entertainment and shows pour people of all ages and all tastes,” says event president Alcide Bernard. “It is particularly through these shows that we celebrate this year’s theme: Sowing Our Acadian Pride!”
He feels one of the most popular concerts of the weekend will without a doubt be the one presented by Claude Chaussé and his intelligent horse Mustang, from Quebec. They will amaze the crowds with their acrobatic tricks and their Western-style comedy routines four times throughout the weekend. They will perform their half-hour shows Saturday, Sept. 3, at 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and again Sunday, Sept. 4, at 12 noon at 4:30 p.m. This man-and-horse duo had been a smash hit at the festival a few years ago so organizers decided it was time to bring them back.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 1
- The Acazing Talent Competition, at 7:30 p.m., will present a maximum of 18 contestants in three age categories. The winner of each category will get substantial cash prizes. At the break, last year’s winners – Allen Gallant, 112 Accords and Gilbert Arsenault – will present a mini-concert.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 2
- The provincial finals of the Youth Talent Competition will be staged at 2:30 p.m. Young performers representing various other festivals and exhibitions will compete.
- Singer-musician Art Richard will present his popular children’s show at 3:30 p.m.
- A musicians’ jam will take place at the Acadian Musical Village starting at 9 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 3
A family show hits the stage at 2 p.m. The husband-and-wife duo of Nick and Samantha Arsenault, accompanied by various family members, will open the show. Then, the brother-and-sisters trio of Stephanie (vocals, guitar and dance), Danielle (vocals, fiddle and dance) and Johnny (piano) – The Ross Family – will present their bilingual energetic music. The group, who has been playing together for ever, is well known throughout the province for its Acadian and Scottish-flavoured song, dance and music numbers. They can be seen every year at countless festivals and events; for the past decade, they’ve been presenting their “Ross Family Ceilidh” at Stanley Bridge during the summer tourist season.- The fantastic group Réveil from New Brunswick will hit the stage at 4 p.m. to provide a sampling of the marvellous music they’ll present later in the evening at the Evangeline and Gabriel Dance.
- 112 Accords, the popular group of teenaged musicians from the Evangeline region, will present their terrific show, accompanied by invited guests from the Magdalen Islands, starting at 8 p.m. in the Angèle Arsenault Hall at the Acadian Musical Village.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 4
- The extremely popular fiddle-and-dance concert, always one of the favourite attractions of the weekend, will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Audiences can expect to hear several energetic fiddlers spitting out the tunes while a number of local stepdancers kick up their heels.
- Finally, starting at 7 p.m., the weekend’s closing show will focus on the theme “Place aux jeunes artistes” (Showcase for young artists). When leaving this show, audiences will certainly have renewed hope in the future of Acadian performing arts.
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CUTLINE 1: The horse Mustang and his master Claude Chaussé will entertain the crowds at the Acadian Festival four times on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 3-4.
CUTLINE 2: The Ross Family – Stephanie, Danielle and Johnny – will present their highly energetic show of Acadian and Scottish-styled music Saturday, Sept. 3, at 2 p.m.
For more information:
Alcide Bernard
President
Evangeline Area Agricultural Exhibition and Acadian Festival
(902) 432-2425
expositionfestival@gmail.com