Summerside honours area Acadians with a special star

The City of Summerside has renamed a star in its sky to honour Acadians in the area.

The star, which in the constellation Puppis, is now named L'toile acadienne Summerside or "the Acadian star of Summerside."

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"It'll be there long after we're gone," said SummersideMayor Bill Martin, at Summerside City Hall on Tuesday. The city announced the naming as part of its celebrationsforNational Acadian Day.

The star was named through U.K. company called Star Register.

'A touching gesture'

"I had a big lump in my throat," said Giselle Babineau-Jordan, chair of LaBelle-Alliance, the Acadian cultural centre in Summerside. "I was so moved by such a touching gesture. I never would have expected that."

Babineau-Jordan and the mayor also raised the Acadian flag at city hall. A group of childrensang in French, as a crowd of people watched theflag raising fromthe steps of city hall.

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New 5-year agreement

The city and LaBelle-Alliance also signed a five-year agreement, pledging to continue to work together to promote Acadian culture in the city.

According to Babineau-Jordan, the Acadian community in the area has made progress in recent years.

"We used to always switch to English as soon as somebody walked into the room just to be more accommodating," she said. "Instead of hearing 'Speak English,' we hear 'I wish I could speak French' a little more often. We're less scared to ask for services in French and to celebrate our culture."

"It's important to recognize the importance of their culture, what they contributed to our community," Martin said."The city has a couple of the young people working for us this summer who are fluently bilingual,and they are able to do our tours in French."

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