“The show matches captivating sound design and songs, incredible lighting and special effects, interactive and innovative projections, but it’s primarily a touching story filled with love, corruption and sacrifice,” explains the artistic and theatre director, Jac Gautreau.

Nicolas Basque will play the horseman and Elisabeth Milo will play the blacksmith’s daughter. Gaétan Robichaud completes the team of comedian-singers. He will play the blacksmith.

Le Violon fantastique is produced by Les Productions Tintamarre and the Comité de promotion de la Place du Vieux couvent. Normand Thériault is the executive producer. Other members of the production team include Jean-François Mallet (music and sound design), Marjolaine Albert (production management), Philippe Cormier (technical direction), Steban Sanfaçon (scenography), Normand Chassé and Vincent Fournier (lighting design), Cyr Sonorisation (sound) and Bernard Frigault of Feux d’artifices Boréal (fireworks). Jac Gautreau, Stéban Sanfaçon and the Corbo Conseil team will do the video design. Altogether, with electricians, carpenters, costume makers, wigmakers, machinists and graphic designers, the Violon fantastique team is 30 people strong.

The show will take place, free of charge, every night at 10 pm (or shortly after 10 pm, depending on the darkness), August 8th-19th (except for the 15th of August). The opening show is scheduled for Wednesday, August 5th, or the next day in case of rain. Caraquet’s Old Convent ruins will host the show. A fire destroyed the Convent in 1992, and the stone walls of that magnificent building, located near the church, have been preserved ever since.

If the show can be presented free of charge to the public, it’s because the Caraquet Co-op and the Caisse populaire Acadie committed to contribute financially by providing $100,000 to the project. “This contribution is set within our approach which consists in contributing to the development of our community. We believe that this show, with the new technology used to produce it, will give the population of the Acadian Peninsula and visitors the chance to appreciate the numerous talents of the comedians, singers, designers, technicians and specialists that work in that field in the region,” say the president of the administrative council of the Caraquet Cooperative, Gabriel Léger, and the president of the Caisse populaire Acadie, Jean-Yves Thériault.

The 2009 World Acadian Congress, the Province of New Brunswick and the City of Caraquet, with its Cultural Capital program, financially back the project.

Members of the “Comité de promotion de la Place du Vieux couvent” represent the “Maison de la culture chrétienne”, Downtown Caraquet, the Greater Caraquet Chamber of Commerce, Heritage Caraquet and the “Festival des arts visuels en atlantique”. The Committee’s goal is to make sure that the Old Convent is animated. “Les Productions Tintamarre” is an organisation affiliated to Caraquet’s Festival acadien. Its mission is to design, direct and produce cultural and artistic products and events in order to complement the ones produced by the Festival.

As the 2009 WAC approaches, the Map of Acadians is a uniting project for the Acadian people. “Acadians are everywhere, in India, in China, in the United States, in Alberta, in Europe. The Map of Acadians is a way to show where we are, wherever that is,” says 2009 WAC general director, Robert Frenette. “It will be interesting to see how the map, a portrait of the Acadian diaspora, unfolds as days and weeks pass.”

“Share the map with your friends and your family, invite everyone to get on the map,” adds CapAcadie.com assistant director, André Wilson.

This tool’s design was made possible by a partnership signed by the Congress and CapAcadie.com. The partnership also includes webmaster services for the Congress website and many more services, such as web promotion and the design of technological tools that will be available to Acadians from here and abroad in anticipation of the festivities that will take place in the Acadian Peninsula this August.

One of these tools is Cap TV, a division of CapAcadie.com. Internet users will be able to contribute to the site by sending their videos filmed while getting to the Acadian Peninsula, during family reunions or during the WAC. This new interactive video hub is perfect to share good memories lived at the Congress and to post comments.

WAC Photo, another tool created as part of the partnership, enables visitors to share pictures taken during the Congress.  In a way, WAC Photo will be a guest book for the countless activities scheduled during the Congress, and will still be there after the festivities are over, becoming a souvenir album.

CapAcadie.com is delighted by the partnership signed with the 4th World Acadian Congress, a deal which gives the event a Silver partnership level. The collaboration announced today is of the utmost importance for CapAcadie.com. “We are proud to be able to support that important cultural event. We hope that our contribution will enrich the experience lived by the Acadian from all over,” says André Wilson.

The tour, entitled Celebrate 2009, will mark New Brunswick’s 225th anniversary, Acadian flag’s 125th anniversary and the 40th year of existence of New Brunswick’s Official Language Act. This tour occurs exactly 25 years after the group’s last major tour called “100 pour 200” celebrating the Acadian flag’s 100th anniversary and the Province’s 200th.

This tour is not only 1755’s tour; many other artists were invited by the band to start the shows: George Belliveau, Tradition, La Virée, Fayo, Lisa LeBlanc, Melanie Morgan, Jean-François Breau, Kevin McIntyre, Steve Poirier, Grand Dérangement, Roddey Romero, Suroît, Dominique Dupuis, Les Divorcees, Darcy Mazerolle, Waylon Thibodeau, KeroZen, Neon Highway, A Raced Called Man, Shirley Albert, Acadia, Cayouche, Hert LeBlanc, etc.

1755 (photo by Lisa Gauvin)

The tour
The tour will start in Dieppe on May 16 and continue May 30 in Causapscal, QC; June 6 in Balmoral; June 11 in Fredericton; June 20 in Miramichi; June 21 in Gatineau, QC; June 27 in Lamèque; July 1st in Gaspé, QC; July 4 in Richibouctou; July 11 in Petit-Rocher; July 18 in Neguac; July 25 in Shediac; August 1st in Dalhousie; August 8 in Charlottetown PEI; August 14 in Dieppe; August 15 in Caraquet; August 21 in Tracadie-Sheila; September 5 in Cap-Pelé; October 10 in Kedgwick; and October 24 in Grand Falls. A show will also be presented in Saint John but the date is not yet known.

Roland Gauvin, member of the group 1755 and main organizer of Celebrate 2009, says that many community organizations have partnered with the artists in this grand tour. “Benefits will be shared with local non-profit organizations in all areas, and their members are helping us out with the shows. In most towns, we are working with the local festival. In some places, the municipality is our partner,” says Gauvin.

1755

Important partners of the private sector
A tour like this one could not happen without important sponsors or partners of the private sector. Molson is the project’s main sponsor. “At Molson we believe in connecting with our communities and we couldn’t be more excited about helping to bring 1755 to many communities in New Brunswick,” said Steve Dykeman, Regional Manager, NB/PEI, Molson. “Molson Canadian is proud to help bring 1755 fans a summer to remember.” Molson will draw for 20 guitars signed by 1755 members plus a private party for 50 people with the members of the band.

The Province of New Brunswick and the Fédération des Caisses populaires acadiennes are also important partners in the tour. CapAcadie.com and L’Acadie Nouvelle are the media partners.

Summary

Saturday, May 16 – Dieppe (NB) : Fayo / George Belliveau
Saturday, May 30 – Causapscal (QC)
Saturday, June 6 – Balmoral (NB) : Kevin McIntyre / La Virée
Thursday, June 11 – Fredericton (NB) : Les Divorcees / Neon Highway
Saturday, June 20 – Miramichi (NB) : Lisa LeBlanc / Darcy Mazerolle
Sunday, June 21 – Gatineau (QC) : Grand Dérangement
Saturday, June 27 – Lamèque (NB) : George Belliveau / A Race Called Man
Wednesday, July 1st – Gaspé (QC)
Saturday, July 4 – Richibouctou (NB) : Suroît
Saturday, July 11 – Petit Rocher (NB) : Jean-François Breau / Acadia
Saturday, July 18 – Neguac (NB) : Tradition / Fayo
Saturday, July 25 – Shediac (NB) : Jean-François Breau / George Belliveau / Shirley Albert
Saturday, August 1st – Dalhousie (NB) : George Belliveau / KeroZen
Saturday, August 8 – Charlottetown (ÎPÉ) : Roddey Romero / Steve Poirier
Friday, August 14 – Dieppe (NB) : Cayouche / Dominique Dupuis
Saturday, August 15 – Caraquet (NB) : La Virée
Friday, August 21 – Tracadie-Sheila (NB) : Waylon Thibodeau / Hert LeBlanc / Cayouche
Saturday, Septembre 5 – Cap-Pelé (NB) : George Belliveau / Melanie Morgan
Saturday, Octobre 10 – Kedgwick (NB)
Saturday, Octobre 24 – Grand Falls (NB)
Date to be determined – Saint John (NB)

Acadieman

The next season of Acadieman will be broadcast on the CapAcadie.com website. Entitled Acadieman vs the 2009 World Acadian Congress, the season – when complete – will make up a full-length film featuring fictitious events surrounding the 2009 World Acadian Congress (WAC). Quebec separates… the Americans invade… and the Acadians are deported. Those are just some of the challenges to be faced by our Acadian superhero.

The public are invited to the launch of Acadieman’s third season 7pm on Thursday, March 19, 2009, at théâtre l’Escaouette, 170 Botsford Street in Moncton, where four new clips will be aired. The Mézagouèche band will also be on hand to perform.

“I’m putting together a 90-minute feature film, a story called Acadieman vs the 2009 WAC. The film will be divided into clips of about three minutes each that will be aired weekly on www.capacadie.com,” said Dano LeBlanc. This fall, the series will be broadcast on TV Rogers (the French-language arm of Rogers TV) over four episodes. The feature film will be released on DVD in time for the 2009 WAC.

The series is a co-production of Capacadie.com, TV Rogers and the 2009 World Acadian Congress.

“This is a great way of showcasing the strength of the new CapAcadie.com. Television is moving more and more toward the Internet. That’s why we launched CapTV. In December, we gave a quick preview of the series when we aired Acadieman vs Christmas. We were pleasantly surprised to have received nearly 30,000 viewings in three weeks,” said André Wilson, assistant manager of CapAcadie.com.

TV Rogers, which aired the first two seasons of Acadieman, is pleased with this new partnership with CapAcadie and is very anxious to broadcast the third season in September. “TV Rogers has believed in this series since the beginning. The Acadieman series is a major hit for us. Once again, creator Dano LeBlanc has succeeded in developing a season filled with humour and surprise twists,” said David Richard, head of programming for TV Rogers.

Acadieman vs the WAC
The new season was also made possible thanks to financial support from the 2009 World Acadian Congress. “The partnership of Acadian and the 2009 World Acadian Congress, through a new series broadcast a few months before the Congress begins, seemed to be a very original way to promote the event,” said Robert Frenette, the Congress’s executive director. “We’re convinced that Acadieman’s fans will fall in love with him all over again through these new adventures. What we hope is that the series will attract a record number of web surfers and increase the already major fan base of the first Acadian superhero!”

As Dano LeBlanc explained, the colourful “chiac-talking” character will travel all over. “The story is that Acadieman has been hired by the World Acadian Congress to recruit people from all over the world to visit the Acadian Peninsula in the summer of 2009. At the same time, Quebec separates from the rest of Canada. A wall has been built along the border of the new country. In fact, the “separatist wall” completely surrounds Quebec. At the moment of separation, the American army invades, something that greatly complicates things for Acadie. The results: a second deportation – but this one will be done in a more contemporary manner than the first one,” LeBlanc said.

The Moncton artist likes to challenge himself before every season. “This year, I’m working with Eric Cormier, a new animator who’s using new software to develop the clips. This is why Acadieman, his mother, all his friends and even his cat Tigris look a bit different – a bit more modern for a more cinematic look. As well, we now have original music created by the band Mézagouèche made up of Claire LeBlanc and Daniel Fournier,” LeBlanc says.

Starring…
A few stars will be featured in the new series. One clip starring Quebec actress Pascale Bussières is already complete. Roland Gauvin will also make an appearance.  As well, the Acadieman team created one of the clips with an eighth-grade class from Moncton’s École Le Mascaret as part of their Géniarts project. Several parts of the episode were written by the students, who also created various characters.