Camper, Amira El-Hafi, competes in Concours d'art oratoire

We at Canoe Island French Camp are always so amazed at the wonderful things our campers are involved with in their home communities: theater club, debate club, coaching a sport, or organizing bake sales to support local charities. And some campers are even competing in French speaking competitions!

Amira El-Hafi, Canoe Island French Camper and 8th grader at St. Michael's University School in British Columbia, recently competed at the school district level in the pan-Canadian French public speaking competition, Concours d'art oratoire. She was one of almost 200 middle school participants and was the first runner up for advancement to the provincial competition in May. Her rendition of "la rage de l'emballage" will have you think twice about purchasing inconveniently wrapped products!

What have you been up to this school year? We'd love to hear from you!

We have so many amazing campers at Canoe Island French Camp. We'd love to welcome an even greater diversity of ambitious and creative students. Help us support our campers be making a donation to our scholarship fund.

Continue the Love

We are so thankful for all the support we receive from our Canoe Island French Camp Friends and Family! Our Bistro Canoe 2016 was a huge success! Spunky zydeco music by the Folichon Trio, delicious food by our past chef Aaron Andrews who donated his time and talent, huge support from Eat-Drink Catering and Hotel Deca and original artwork auctioned. Everyone had so much fun! Check out our photos of folks dressed to the nines and dancing the night away. Most importantly, we raised $15,000 towards our goal of $25,000 to build a new Atelier-- the art workshop on Canoe Island


You can keep the good times rolling by helping us raise the last $10,000. If you weren't able to come to the gala, you can still donate right now. We can even send you a thank you gift if you would like a Canoe Island French Camp momento. Don't forget to take your donation receipt to work as your employer might be able to match your gift.

Enjoy more updates in our current Camaraderie (Canoe Island French Camp's newsletter) including our search for a new nurse, les choses à raconter, coin français and our most recent registration numbers for camp and family programs!

les ognons sont bons mais ils coutent beaucoup

Ce n'est pas vrai! but the spelling of both les oignons and coûter will officially change to les ognons and couter in French school books this year. The spelling changes approved by l'Academie Française in 1990 apply to 2,400 words and discontinues the use of l'accent circonflexe in many cases. Here at Canoe Island French Camp, the changes provide an excellent entry point to discussions around the evolution of language and how society influences what stays and what goes. TF1 released a video February 3rd, which has started a social media frenzy including the hashtag #jesuiscirconflexe and the BBC has a great article in English.

What do you think about these changes to the French language?

animal de compagnie

Razz paddling around Canoe Island

I can't imagine Canoe Island without Addie, Ben's loveable Australian shepherd. She is the real life teddy bear for campers and counselors and an excellent foot warmer during the winter months in the office. Not only that but she is a mother to two litters of adorable puppies. We are lucky to have two of them with us on the island. The rest have been sold to loving homes. Razz is my new baby dog. And I love him to pieces. It's amazing how quickly the bond between pet and owner can form. My new puppy has me wondering about pets in France.

Un animal de compagnie is an animal kept primarily as a companion and not for work purposes. About 50% of all households in France own at least one pet. The top five most popular types of pets may surprise you.

5. small mammals including rabbits (2.66 million)

4. birds (6.43 million)

3. dogs (7.42 million)

2. cats (11.41 million)

1. fish (34.99 million)

La Chandeleur

Do you love les crêpes? today, is La Chandeleur, a French holiday where it is tradition to eat crêpes! Why crêpes? Géraldine provides a wonderful overview of the history of this French day, along with an excellent tutorial on how to faire des crêpes! Fire up your skillets, enjoy the video, and then a crêpe!