Centre Acadien, Université Sainte-Anne

Télé-Clare and CIFA - 1986 marked the official opening of Télé-Clare, a French-language television channel for residents of Clare. The Télé-Clare studio (pictured) was located on the Université Sainte-Anne campus, on the fourth floor of the Gustave-Blanche Building. Shows were produced entirely by volunteers. Various guests, including people from the community, participated by hosting programs in French.

Télé-Clare offered a variety of programming, including shows featuring local artists, the "Papas Noël" telethon, aerobics classes, as well as interviews with residents on various topics related to the Acadian community (music, cooking, history, heritage, industries, education, language, architecture, etc.). In addition, classified ads were shown on the channel to allow community members to stay informed about important news and events.

Most of the Télé-Clare programming broadcast during its first ten years may be watched at the Centre acadien; the Télé-Clare collection includes 787 videos from 1986 to 1997.

Télé-Clare was one of Clare’s major media tools. Until its closure in 2012, it played an important role for the Acadians of Clare.

Broadcasting on FM 104.1 since 1990, CIFA community radio serves southwestern Nova Scotia’s French-speaking audience and continues to be an essential tool for the promotion of regional Acadian culture. CIFA, like Télé-Clare, has allowed community members to express themselves and hear each other in their own language, thus encouraging local musicians to renew ties with French-speaking musical culture and revive traditional songs.

CIFA has supported several local musicians, not only by playing their compositions on the air, but also by producing records. Baptiste Comeau, for example, a songwriter from Concession, recorded eighty songs from his repertoire in collaboration with CIFA. His song writing mostly explores the lifestyle of Clare’s Acadians. In fact, one of his compositions was the first song broadcast on CIFA community radio.

Topic: Arts and Culture

Date: [ca. 1979]

Reference: Université Sainte-Anne Collection Centre Acadien Series B, photo 539

For more information, visit the Centre Acadien website.