L'Acadie de Chezzetcook Association has served the Acadian and Francophone community in Nova Scotia's Chezzetcook region since 1996. It offers a range of services, programs and cultural activities for the region's Francophones and Francophiles throughout the year. Recently, the Francophone community in Chezzetcook has grown, leading to increased demand for French-language services and activities in the community.
Today, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, announced $1,547,459 in funding for l'Acadie de Chezzetcook. The funding, from Canadian Heritage's Community Spaces Fund of the Development of Official Language Communities Program, will be used to purchase and renovate the former St. Anselm Church and its presbytery, to create the Centre acadien de l'Anse de Chezzetcook.
The former church will become a meeting place, cultural development centre and a space for interpretation, visual arts and performance, as well as cultural awareness.
In addition to the former church building, the association will purchase the former presbytery house and renovate the spaces to transform them into a community centre. This centre will serve the community and non-profit organizations by promoting local initiatives, artists and, above all, the development of Francophone and Acadian cultural identities. The community centre will include multi-purpose rooms, collaborative offices for non-profits, a community kitchen and short-term lodging for artists-in-residence or short-term workers.
The establishment of Centre acadien de l'Anse de Chezzetcook will allow the association to offer more services, activities and events for the region's growing Acadian and Francophone community.
