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LEBRON MILES / July 30, 1999
The words will be repeated over and over again the next two weeks,
in whatever language or whatever dialect.
To the French, they're "Bienvenue, vous autres."
To their Cajun cousins, they're the similar "Bienvenue, vous aut'es."
To Southerners of all origins, they're simply "Wel-come, y'all."
As thousands of people from across North America, and even
around the globe, converge on Terrebonne Parish beginning today,
local organizers of the two weeks celebrating south Louisiana's
Acadian roots say the visitors will receive a heaping dose of Cajun
fun and equal parts of Southern hospitality.
"We're going to give them a taste of Louisiana," said Sheryl Collins,
who is leading the organization of six family reunions, including her
own, designed to bring distant cousins from the United States,
Canada and France together for only the second time.
The family reunions are the cornerstone of the event known as
Congrès Mondial Acadien, or in English, the World Acadian
Congress. The reunions begin Saturday, with four families of
Acadian ancestry gathering in spots across Terrebonne Parish. The
highlight of the weekend will be Sunday's opening ceremonies at
the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. The opening ceremonies will
feature Cajun and Canadian musicians, parachuting acrobats and a
meeting of American and Canadian Indian tribes.
Sharon Alford, executive director of the Houma Area Convention and
Visitors Bureau, said Canadian tourists will number in the
thousands, but she expects the bulk of the event's visitors to be
homegrown.
"We're expecting 1,000 to 2,000 Canadians, and the Congrès is
going to draw thousands more people from Louisiana," Alford said.
"This is a celebration of our heritage, and the people of Louisiana
are the guests of honor."
Audrey Babineaux George, who runs a local bed and breakfast and
often has French guests, said Terrebonne Parish has a chance to
extend international goodwill and see a tourism boom from it.
"We do not feel our Canadian cousins really know us," George said.
"The music, the cooking, the language, all of it will have them
coming back. Our visitors are always extremely impressed by the
welcome they get. They'll leave with a long-lasting impression, and
they'll go back with plenty of stories."
Robert Bourque, a teacher from New Brunswick, Canada, who
arrived in the area early, already has a story to tell.
Bourque and his wife, Angele, are staying with Collins' family in
Houma. Their host's grandmother was a Bourg, and Collins is
leading the Bourg/Bourque/Belliveau reunion scheduled for Saturday
in - where else? - Bourg. On Wednesday night, the Collins family
treated their visitors to boiled crab, Cajun style, of course.
"We have crab back home, but it's not the same," Robert Bourque
said, then added with a laugh, "It's very spicy."
On top of good eating, the distant relatives have had a chance to
talk and discuss their common ancestry. Their families bonded in
1994, in Canada for the first Congrès Mondial Acadien, when Collins
met Robert Bourque's father, Joseph. He wasn't able to make the
trip to Louisiana, but Angele Bourque contacted Collins via the
Internet. They formed a fast friendship, and Collins invited them to
stay in her home on Park Avenue.
"They want to know what it's like to be Cajuns," Collins said.
Collins said everybody in Terrebonne Parish can play a part in the
gathering by simply talking to the visitors.
"They're coming for our food and music, but it's the people they've
come to see, to talk to them," Collins said. She then thought of one
other thing that might help those from the North who came to
Louisiana just in time for the sweltering part of the year. "Other than
air conditioning the outdoors, talking is the best thing we can do to
welcome them."
Lebron Miles is city editor at The Courier. He can be reached at
857-2201 or by e-mail at hdcnews@nytimes.com.
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