National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, sometimes referred to as Orange Shirt Day, is celebrated each year on Sept. 30. The day serves as an opportunity to honour the survivors of residential schools, their families, their communities, and the children that never returned home while building public awareness. Orange Shirt Day was first celebrated in 2013, but the federal holiday for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was first celebrated in 2021. The orange shirt as a symbol was inspired by residential school survivor Phyllis Jack Webstad, whose personal clothing (including an orange shirt) was taken from her as she arrived at residential school. Learn more here.

Gaelic Nova Scotia Month

Nova Scotia began celebrating Gaelic Nova Scotia Month (Mìos nan Gàidheal) in May of 1996. The month of May is designated as an opportunity to celebrate and create awareness of the Gaelic heritage that is home to Nova Scotia.

While other provinces across Canada that have been known to have Gaelic speaking populations throughout their history, Nova Scotia is the one province where the "Gaelic culture established roots and grew for generations to survive" according to Gaelic Nova Scotian Affairs. For a time in Nova Scotia’s history, Gaelic was the 3rd most spoken language in the province and Nova Scotia is still home to approximately 2000 Gaelic speakers.

2023 was the first year that the Municipality has officially proclaimed as Gaelic Nova Scotia Month. Proclamations assist in creating awareness of the Gaelic culture that grew in Nova Scotia after large populations of Gaelic speaking immigrants from Scotland and Ireland settled. These Gaelic roots are now large part of the province’s heritage.

Asian Heritage Month
Asian Heritage Month has been celebrated since the 1990s. In December 2001, the Senate of Canada adopted a motion proposed by Senator Vivienne Poy (Canada's first Chinese-Canadian senator) to officially designate May as Asian Heritage Month in Canada. In May 2002, the Government of Canada signed an official declaration to announce May as Asian Heritage Month. 2023 was the first year that the Municipality has officially proclaimed as Asian Heritage Month. Proclaiming and celebrating Asian Heritage Month allows the Municipality to celebrate contributions from persons of Asian descent throughout the Kings Region and beyond.

Acadian Day

The Acadian population has been celebrating Acadian Day on August 15th since 1881. In 2003 the Government of Canada officially passed the National Acadian Day Act.

To see what events are taking place near you, click here.

International Women’s Day
Join us for our annual International Women’s Day event!

Transgender Day of Visibility
The Municipality of the County of Kings observes Transgender Day of Visibility with a proclamation, flag raising, and event geared towards local youth, partnering with school GSA’s to promote visibility of transgender folks in our community and welcoming local transgender speakers to celebrate the joy that is often overshadowed by the violence and discrimination that members of the transgender community face.

Proclamations
Proclamations are formal pronouncements issued by Municipal Council to bring awareness to certain causes. If your community group or organization would like to request a proclamation, see the Proclamations Policy.

Past proclamations can be found within Agenda Packages here, where you can search the year and keyword "proclamations" to find relevant motions at Committee of the Whole or Council.