Description of Historic Place

Carrefour de la Culture Acadienne consists of part of a vacant grassy lot on de l’Église Avenue in the centre of the village of Saint-Antoine.

Heritage Value

Carrefour de la Culture Acadienne is designated a Local Historic Place for being a public space that served as a pre-eminent gathering place for almost all cultural and sports activities of a regional, national, and international scope for at least 70 years, thus contributing to the development of a uniquely Acadian culture in the village.

With its central location, the site of Carrefour de la Culture Acadienne vibrated to the sound of uniquely Acadian regional and international cultural events starting in 1924, and maybe even 1879. Cultural events included picnics, bazaars, raffles, the Festival de Chez Nous, the Poutine Râpée Festival (which earned Saint-Antoine the name of Poutine Râpée Capital), and amateur nights. At the international level, the site hosted the 1990-1992 Arcadiades and the 1994 World Acadian Congress. Many of these events took place in the "gray school", which was located on the site from 1944 until 1993. It was in the basement of this schoolhouse where a majority of the community's cultural events were hosted during this period.

Source: Village of Saint-Antoine, File A9 - Carrefour de la Culture Acadienne

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe Carrefour de la Culture Acadienne include:
- vacant lot measuring 5,400 metres;
- former site of the "gray school";
- public space attesting to the cultural events held in Saint-Antoine since 1879;
- location in the village centre;
- still visible paved section, commonly called the ring, which was used for various sports.