Yellowknife's francophone community gathered at the Folk on the Rocks beer garden Sunday afternoon to celebrate St Jean Baptiste.
The Association franco-culturelle de Yellowknife (AFCY) hosted this year's event that featured activities such as donkey rides, life-size foosball and live music from local and guest bands.
“We are celebrating it here because we want to celebrate and promote the diversity of the francophonie in the North,” said Pascaline Greau, executive director of AFCY. “There is some Quebecois [in Yellowknife], but there is also Acadian, from Ontario, all over the place, and we gather all together to celebrate the French language.”
St. Jean Baptiste Day is celebrated every year on June 24 and is known as Quebec's national holiday. According to a report in The Montreal Gazette, the holiday began in ancient times as Christianity spread throughout France to celebrate the feast of John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus. It first came to Canada with French colonists and eventually became a statutory holiday in Quebec. The day eventually became political and many French separatists used the occasion to rally support among those that wanted Canada's largest francophone province to leave the country. However, here in the North, Greau said the day has always been just a celebration of French culture.
“We don't want to be separated,” Greau said, chuckling. “Everyone is welcome to come and celebrate what they have in their heart.”
Large crowds attended the event in Yellowknife throughout Sunday evening, enjoying the sun after a mostly rainy weekend. On the main stage, the NWT Circus kicked things off before local band Drunken Forest performed a number of songs. The headliner of the evening was Saskatchewan's Etienne Fletcher.