Expo Acadie!

Expo Acadie, which alternates every two years between Louisiana and Nova Scotia, will be held at the Holidome on April 22-24.

The event allows businesses in Acadiana to promote their products and develop business partnerships with Canadian Acadian companies.

"It's an event for companies trying to expand their business," said Fumilayo Rita of Le Centre International de Lafayette, a division of Lafayette Consolidated Government.

"If companies wish to open up to the international market, this would be the perfect event for them."

Expo Acadie was first held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2004 in conjunction with the World Acadian Congress and the 400th anniversary of l'Acadie.

The fair moved to New Orleans and Lafayette in 2006 and back to Nova Scotia in 2008.

This year, Expo Acadie returns to Lafayette with a focus on the commercialization of educational and cultural products and services.

The theme of this year's event is "Towards an Acadian and Cajun French Language Cultural Economy."

The event kicks off April 22 with a workshop titled Collaborative Strategies in Community Development, hosted by Acadian Affairs and the Nova Scotia Department of Economic and Rural Development.

A networking luncheon follows on April 23, with a presentation by UL's Barry Ancelet titled "Socio-Cultural Tourism as an Economic Engine for Les Acadien."

The exposition will be held on April 23 and is free and open to the public.

Some industries represented include French language education, publishing, genealogy, information technology, translation and interpretation, heritage, cultural tourism and new interactive media.

Gabriel Comeau, general manager of Canadian-based Echovoix, said he wants to explore work or partnership opportunities in Louisiana.

The company provides simultaneous interpretation and translation services for clients in Canada and the United States.

A film crew will also be conducting interviews for "A Cajun's View of Nova Scotia, a" series of video clips promoting Acadian tourism in Canada.

For more information or to register, contact Le Centre International de Lafayette at 291-5475.