MADAWASKA — Two dozen community leaders from the St. John Valley have come forward to serve on a coordinating committee that will organize activities in northern Maine leading up to and during the 2014 World Acadian Congress/Congrès Mondial Acadien.
Photo courtesy of Ed GilmanCongressman Mike Michaud met with the Maine members of the World Acadian Congress 2014 Committee while attending the Can-Am event in Fort Kent. Pictured clockwise, from left: Michaud, Jason Parent, Louise Martin, Lise Pelletier and Anne Roy. Member Don Levesque was absent when the photo was taken but joined the group subsequently to discuss plans for the 2014 event.
According to Jason Parent, president of the Maine delegation on the international organizing committee of the WAC/CMA, the Maine Coordinating Committee will work under the direction of the international body and with communities and organizations throughout northern Maine to build awareness and plan events for the largest activity ever hosted in the region. Similar groups are being formed in northwestern New Brunswick and southeastern Quebec to coordinate activity in those areas.
Leaders of the new coordinating committee were elected at a recent organizational meeting held in Madawaska. Beurmond Banville and Lorraine Pelletier, both of St. Agatha will serve as chair and vice chair respectively; Denise Cote of Grand Isle-St. David was elected treasurer and Sheila Cannon of Van Buren was named secretary.
The 24-member group is comprised of the following individuals: Jesse Jalbert, Nancy Thibodeau and Susan Tardie, all of Fort Kent; Dona Saucier, Frenchville; Terry Ouellette, Lise Sirois, Beurmond Banville and Lorraine Pelletier, all of St. Agatha; Norman Cyr, Chad Carter, Jane Carter, Theresa Theriault, the Rev. Jacques LaPointe, Randy and Gemma Cyr, Annette Daigle, and Mark Dionne, all of Madawaska; Denise Cote, Grand Isle-St. David; Don Cyr and Terry Helms, both of Lille; Thomas Cannon and Sheila Cannon, both of Van Buren; Danny Deveau, Cyr Plantation; and Romeo Parent, Caribou.
“We are so pleased at the wide cross-section of talented people from througout the area who have come together to ensure that the fifth World Acadian Congress, hosted by the L’Acadie des terres et forets/Acadia of the Lands and Forests, will not only be memorable, but leave a positive and lasting legacy on our region,” said Parent. “This event will have a direct impact on the entire region and these individuals will work toward our collective goal of showcasing our vibrant Acadian culture to the world.”
The Maine Coordinating Committee will work with municipalities and community organizations to develop a comprehensive program of activities on the Maine side of the international border during the Congress in August 2014. They will also help stage a number of pre-Congress activities to prepare the region.
It is anticipated that Madawaska’s Acadian Festival will move from its traditional late June date to August in 2014 to coincide with the Congress. Similarly, events including the Ployes Festival in Fort Kent, Van Buren Summerfest and homecoming and festival events in other Valley communities will coincide with the August dates of the WAC.
Beyond that, the coordinating group will be responsible for organizing one of the three major events that occur at each WAC. In the coming months a decision will be made at the international committee level to determine where the opening and closing ceremonies for the event will be held, as well as the largest celebration — the Acadian Feast Day festivities on August 15. One each will be held in Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec.
“The Maine coordinating committee has begun its four-year journey to host the Acadians of the world in our little corner of the world,” said Banville. “We hope and are anxious to showcase northern Maine to worldwide cousins.”
“Our group of some two dozen residents will surely grow in the coming 54 months of preparations,” he continued. “We are preparing to host one of the largest celebrations of a people celebrating 400 years of its history.”
The coordinating committee will also assist in resource development and in the efforts to determine where and when many of the family reunions that occur during the three-week Congress will take place. World Acadian Congres is a huge celebration comprised of more than 300 activities including family reunions, local celebrations, ceremonies, musical and theatrical productions, conferences, cultural performances and sporting events. The festivities draw an estimated 300,000 participants in activities held throughout the host region and comprise over 50,000 visitors from as many as 44 countries from the Francophone world.
The economic impact of past World Acadian Congress festivities in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Louisiana has ranged from $30 to $50 million for the host region and surrounding area.
Acadia of the Lands and Forests is an international region that is comprised of the population of the Saint John Valley in northern Maine, combined with the northwest of New Brunswick and the county of Témiscouata in Québec. The territory spreads over two countries, two provinces and one state, five counties, over 50 towns and community groups, and more than 100,000 residents.
