Celebrating French Canadian culture in Strathmore 

This week on Thursday Ecole Brentwood Elementary School students will be celebrating French Canadian culture with an annual carnival of fun cultural events.  

Erin Friesen, Associate Principal of Ecole Brentwood Elementary School explained, “We host Carnavale, a scaled-down version of what they do in Quebec every year. We've done it every year, even last year when all of the restrictions were in place, we just did it in a socially isolated manner with classroom cohorts.” 

This week the province of Alberta announced is the month of Francophonie.  

In Strathmore at Ecole Brentwood School, there will be an outdoor celebration for the students along with a visit from Bon Homme, the Quebec Winter Carnivale Mascot. 

Friesen said there will be French culture incorporated in some of the activities, like individually wrapped Maple Taffy treats for each of the students, hot chocolate and a visit from Bon Homme, she explained that the school also partnered with Canadian Parents for French to organize the visit. 

"We've got a variety of outdoor activities for the afternoon that the students will be participating in things like snow sculpture building and we're going to do a snowman contest. Each class is going to build a snowman this year,” she said. 

"It’s something fun that the kids can do and just learn a little bit about those Francophone cultural aspects. The idea behind Carnival in Quebec, from the research that I've done, is just about getting outside and celebrating winter and doing something fun. But also ties to the Maple and some of those symbolic elements that are uniquely Canadian " she said. 

Alberta Minister of Culture Ron Orr said, “Franco-Albertans have deep roots in Alberta that began more than 200 years ago before Alberta was a province. These roots have grown and flourished into the largest French-speaking population in Western Canada and the fourth largest in Canada." 

“The influence of these residents is exhibited in more than 2,000 communities and historic sites across Alberta that have their names derived from French origin. The municipalities of Beaumont, Legal, Falher, and Plamondon even retain their official bilingual status." 

“One in three Alberta students is enrolled in a French-language program, making it the most commonly learned second language in schools and continuing the tradition of bilingualism."

“A vibrant multilingual population is not just an asset to culture but the economy as well. This will be integral to our province as we launch into one of the fastest post-COVID-19 recoveries in the country.”