PLAMONDON – The community of Plamondon celebrated its French-Canadian roots during the annual Cabane à Sucre event, hosted by the Plamondon-Lac La Biche French Canadian Association of Alberta (ACFA) on March 15.
The winter event, which was organized as part of francophonie month, featured a brunch, outdoor games, live music, and plenty of maple syrup.
A traditional French-Canadian sugar shack, known in French as Cabane à Sucre, was set up in the parking lot of the ACFA office in Plamondon.
Volunteers prepared the maple syrup which was later served to the large group of people. Troughs were set up in the parking lot and filled with snow to cool down the hot maple syrup, which was turned into sweet, sticky taffy.
Many of those who stopped the celebration were from the Plamondon area, including Christelle Shepherd, who came with her daughter, Claire.
According to Shepherd, who is the site administrator for the Lac La Biche Mission, and sits on the board of the ACFA organization, the sugar shack has a strong significance in francophone culture. The community event, she explained, is a celebration of winter nearing its end and spring arriving.
“It is the time that we all get together after a long winter and celebrate that winter’s almost over and nature’s coming back to life,” Shepherd said.
“There’s a lot of people even with their French background that don’t necessarily speak French at home, but they come and enjoy the day,” she added.
