Canada is a bilingual country, but in English-speaking parts of the country Francophones can find it hard to preserve their language and culture. Franco Winterfest in Calgary gives Alberta Francophones a chance to celebrate and share their cultures.
On March 14th, Franco Winterfest celebrated its fourth year at The Confluence Historic Site and Parkland in Calgary. The event takes place in March — the month of the Francphonie in Canada. An important reason for the festival is preserving the French language and francophone cultures.
Ismaël Diallo, a guest at Franco Winterfest, said it is important to him that his children know where they come from by engaging with the francophone community.
“Preserving francophone culture is important even for our kids,” said Diallo. “I know they will speak English for sure, because we live in Calgary, but I want them to speak French to preserve the language.”
Franco Winterfest highlighted French Canadian traditions like maple taffy, Metis dancers and folk singers, but it also featured global francophone and non-francophone cultural traditions such as Native dancers and Hakili drum and dance.
Dany Côté, festival organizer and president of the Calgary branch of the French Canadian Association of Alberta (ACFA), said the festival values its inclusivity.
“The importance of the festival for the French community is to be a kind of a window on [how] vibrant and inclusive the Franco community is in Calgary,” said Côté.
Franco Winterfest honors Francophone traditions across the world, and promotes the learning of French by sharing it.