The 2014 World Acadian Congress will be held Aug. 8-24 2014 in northern Maine, northwest New Brunswick and Temiscouata County in the Province of Quebec, Canada.

“This World Acadian Congress is special because it brings together two countries, two provinces and a U.S. state, more than 50 municipalities and an anticipated 50,000 or more attendees,” said Leo-Paul Charest, executive director of the event. “We are people who once worked much more closely when there were no international boundaries to separate us.”

Charest lives in Saint-Jean-de-la-Lande, a small town in Quebec near the New Brunswick border. He is an administrator and educator who has experience coordinating projects in Francophone countries.

Franco-Americans and families with ties to the French Acadian culture are expected to reunite at events planned on both sides of Maine’s border with New Brunswick and Quebec during the WAC.

In French, the World Acadian Congress is called Congres Mondial Acadien.  It’s an opportunity for Acadians to unite every five years at different locations where French and Acadian history are evident. For example, past celebrations were hosted in Nova Scotia (where French Acadians colonized Acadia in the 17th century) and in Louisiana.

Congres Mondial re-connects Acadians with their historic, familial and cultural roots. Events help reunite the descendants of French families who experienced the brutal 1755 expulsion of Acadian colonial settlements and the subsequent destruction of properties in Nova Scotia, during a scourge conducted by the British during Le Grand Derangement (The Great Displacement).

The 2014 gathering will be northern Maine’s first time hosting the Congress and events are planned in every town in the St. John Valley.  The entire area hosting the event is called “Acadia of the Lands and Forests.” Their theme is “Acadia of the World: A New Acadia”.

Event organizers anticipate a successful program thanks to advanced planning and international cooperation. Fundraising is underway, as is outreach to attract visitors from national and international groups. They are recruiting support from the French Consulate in Boston and expect at least four busloads of visitors from Louisiana.

Organizers have raised $1 million from the state and other donors, but cuts to federal earmark grants are challenging the development process, said Jason Parent, a native of the St. John Valley in Aroostook County and president of Maine’s delegation to WAC.

Parent said they plan to hire a state regional coordinator, to work with counterparts in New Brunswick and Quebec. Maine’s regional coordinator will work with Charest and the other delegations to formulate a strategic plan to mobilize events for the WAC.

Charest said the international cooperation makes the 2014 Congress special. 

“This event will change our area in a way we never imagined. I hope everyone in Maine will want to be part of it,” Charest said.

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