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For me it has been fifteen weeks of full immersion in the great anniversary party. Before that, for four years, hundreds
of volunteers and hundreds of man hours, were spent putting together the funding and arrangements for dozens of events held
in all too short a period of time. My job was to keep the well-oiled machine of four years of planning, running smoothly.
As a result I was usually the guy hanging around the fringes, looking for a photograph. At the Landing Re-enactment of Champlain's
arrival, I was the guy you saw trying to drag unruly TV cameramen out of everyone's way. Our story was told worldwide.
After so many events, which ranged in tone from colorful, boisterous and downright noisy, to sedate, thought provoking
and deeply moving, my overall impression is this:
I picture a carload of innocent visitors who just dropped in to Annapolis Royal to grab some lunch. What the heck? How
come there are tents set up in front of those two beautiful inns? Are they that short of rooms? And What's with all these
soldiers in old costumes? Hey, look, there's a bunch of costumed people dancing around the green. How come there are people
with painting easels all over the place? And folks running frantically with stacks of pizza boxes? Hey, there's a play going
on there in the market square! Someone's unveiling a plaque over there. Did you notice the flags? What's that ringing and
shouting? Town criers to the left of us, blacksmiths to the right! Jeepers, does everyone here wear a costume?
No, folks, it's just another typical summer weekend in the Annapolis Royal area. Carry on up the Valley and you'll find
caber tossers, log rollers, a 40-piece band playing under the stars, any number of flower shows, parades, strawberry suppers,
ox pulls, concerts, athletic events and pancake breakfasts.
We're celebrating the roles of our Mi'kmaq, French, Acadian, English, Scottish and African Nova Scotian ancestors (did
I miss anyone?). We're showing you how those diverse roots are still strong and vibrant in our 21st century community.
If you would like to see some of the photographs go to: www.portroyal400.com. Click on Events Photo Slide Show, at top
right.
The town of Annapolis Royal website (www.Annapolis royal.com) also has some new photos under the Photo Archives button.
To answer some of the above questions: Re-enactors were showing how it was in 1605 at French fort Port Royal and English
for Fort Anne. Samuel Champlain and his shipmates and the Mi'kmaq Indians were meeting each other at the landing at Port
Royal. Every year we have a weekend called: Paint the Town, at which over one hundred artists come to town and paint all
day for two days'volunteers with pizza boxes pick up their paintings and run to hang them so that we can bid on them. This
year the Canadian Town Crier Association held their town-crying contest here. Blacksmiths from all over the world also came
to town and for a few days treated us to lessons of their craft and exhibited their iron art pieces.
Many of these art pieces were later sent on tour to major city art galleries. And music and art from 1605 was seen and
heard all about the area, with locals joining hands with tourists to partake of the dancing.
Another year we hope you will visit us and take part in the many activities the second oldest permanent settlement in
North America has to offer.
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