Louisbourg – Carol Dobson
Things are much more peaceful along the shores of Louisbourg harbour today than they were 250 years ago. The summer of 1758 was a summer of troops marshalling, ships being sunk, and cannon fire echoing through the day and night air.
One of the most important battles for control of North America was being fought that summer and this year, the events are being commemorated at the Fortress of Louisbourg and also in the surrounding town.
Events include dinner theatre at the Louisbourg Playhouse and at the Fortress itself in the Grandchamps Restaurant, combining an original play about the people who lived in the Fortress with an 18th century meal. There will also be wine tastings featuring wines similar in nature to those in Louisbourg’s cellars in 1758.
On June 8, Wolfe’s Redoubt, one of a series of fortifications built by the British in the terrain surrounding the Fortress will be officially opened.
“On Canada Day, we’ll be officially opening the new gateway which leads into Louisbourg,” Joleen MacIntyre, the project coordinator for Louisbourg 2008, says. “We’re also planning special programming throughout the summer reflecting our Newfoundland, Acadian, Irish, and Mik’maq heritage.”
Of special interest to those with roots in the town will be the Old Town Reunion on July 19 and 20.
“It’s a reunion of several families who had been living on the fortress’ property and whose homes were expropriated when the fortress was being restored,” she says.
For many, the highlight of the summer will be the events happening during the week of July 21-27. There will be boat tours, special children’s activities along the waterfront, special ‘Seige Tours’ of the Fortress, a flotilla of boats and special festivities on July 26 – Lighthouse Day. During that week, the new walking trail that follows the coastline around the town’s historic lighthouse will be officially opened.
Re-enactors from all across North America will converge on the Fortress during that week for the Encampment, which will run from July 25-7. Anyone who visited ‘The Changing of the Guard” in Halifax in 2006, knows how interesting it is to wander among the tents, talking to different regiments, and learning more about the lives of soldiers and their families 250 years ago. In addition to activities at the Fortress, the Town of Louisbourg will also hold a number of special events including “A Parade Through the Centuries”, children’s activities and a fireworks display.
On Sunday, July 27th – the anniversary of the fort’s surrender – MacIntyre says there will be a special fireworks display at the town’s historic lighthouse.
As the summer continues, there will be other celebrations in the town, including the Fisherman’s Carnival and Crab Festival at the end of July and the beginning of August, the Louisbourg “Race through Time” on August 16, and, to end the summer, the annual Feast of St. Louis commemoration at the Fortress on August 24.
“We’re hoping that people will not only visit the Fortress this summer but that they’ll eat in our restaurants, enjoy our waterfront and lighthouse, and stay overnight,” MacIntyre says.