With over 40 people attending a recent session in Madawaska to learn more about hosting family reunions during the 2014 World Acadian Congress (WAC) and additional individuals expressing interest since, Maine WAC officials have added two additional informational meetings.
The upcoming meetings are scheduled for Thursday, October 20 at 6 p.m. at the Fort Kent Town Office, and on Tuesday, October 25 at 6 p.m. at the Van Buren Town Office.
With the first enrollment application deadline quickly approaching for individuals interested in hosting family reunions in conjunction with the 2014 WAC, the Fort Kent and Van Buren meetings are aimed toward helping families apply to host a reunion and to inform those interested about the preparation that goes into hosting such a gathering during the coming international event.
Interested family representatives who were unable to attend the initial Madawaska meeting in early October are encouraged to attend the Van Buren or Madawaska sessions, as well as those potentially interested in applying to host a reunion in the Maine sector of Acadia of the Lands and Forests in 2014.
The call for proposals of gatherings in northern Maine, northwest New Brunswick, and southeast Quebec was first announced in early June by WAC organizers. The first open round of applications for families, family associations, communities, and others interested in hosting reunions in 2014 closes at the end of this month.
Once the current first round application period closes, WAC staff, under the advisement of the international family reunion committee, will work to bring together any competing applicants for the same last name to encourage collaboration and the submission of a single proposal. The announcement of the first venues selected to host family reunions will be made early in 2012 at the same time as the second round of applications is launched.
Applications for parties interested in hosting a family reunion in Acadia of the Lands and Forests in 2014 are currently available on-line at the website for the fifth World Acadian Congress at www.cma2014.net/en. Paper applications can be picked up in person in Maine at all Norstate Credit Union locations.
