BIDDEFORD — After attending Mass in a large tent, Paulette Lajoie enjoyed pizza on Sunday while people stood in line for free crepes nearby.

Lajoie came to the annual La Kermesse Franco-Americaine Festival for three big reasons. She lives in Brunswick, but was raised in Biddeford and has strong ties to the city, where she works for a local school.

Attending La Kermesse “gives you a feeling of belonging,” she said. “You always run into a relative you haven’t seen in a while.”

“The music, oh I love the music,” she said. “I love getting out and seeing people, and the good food!”

The festival was first held in 1983 to celebrate the Canadian Franco culture at a time when many worked in the mills, said festival president Jessica Quattrone. It was canceled for two years because of the pandemic, but organizers still refer to this year’s event as the 40th rendition.

“My dad’s first language is French,” she said. As fewer people speak the language today, and as the community’s culture changes, “the festival is holding onto the Franco feel, but it also celebrates other cultures.”

Besides French-influenced food, Jamaican, Italian, Iraqi, Cambodian, Somali and other cuisine was featured, Quattrone said. “Biddeford is a welcoming community.”

Other Franco festivals have come and gone, but the Biddeford celebration has enjoyed a long, successful history because it’s been embraced by the community, Quattrone said.

Festival goers are considered family members, she said. People who come every year say the festival is where they see old friends and extended family members. “It’s like a big class reunion,” said her father, Joey LaBlond, who’s in charge of entertainment. “You see folks you may not have seen for 15 years.”

The festival ran from Thursday through Sunday. Quattrone said attendance on Thursday, Friday and Saturday numbered about 3,600, but that didn’t count Sunday, when there was no admission fee. Also free on Sunday was a breakfast of French crepes.

Guy Gosselin of Biddeford was manning six frying pans at a time. Making crepes from scratch for hundreds of festival goers means starting early and mixing ingredients in a large container, he said.

Gosselin’s late father, Robert Gosselin, was one of the La Kermesse founders, he said, while flipping crepes on a hot stove. His father got involved to maintain their Franco heritage, he said.

“I got involved because he volunteered me,” Gosselin said. His father took community service seriously, and “I’m the same way,” he said, adding he’s made crepes at the festival for 24 years.

In the main tent, 84-year-old Dick Coffin of Biddeford, a professional performer and festival staple for years, sang French songs as well as contemporary tunes in English, performed impersonations and did comedy routines.

One of his skits was impersonating Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda in “The Golden Pond.”

Then, he transformed himself, again, impersonating Elvis Presley. Coffin turned his back to the audience while donning a sequined jacket, black wig and sunglasses. He struck a pose, turned, curled his lip and starting singing “Can’t Help Falling In Love.”

As he sang and swayed, Coffin moved among the audience handing out tissues. Adrienne Gendron and Lorette Zuke, both of Biddeford, raised their arms and waved the paper to the beat as Coffin sang.

“I think he’s very good,” Gendron said. “He’s a good entertainer.” The two women said they love listening to the singers and bands. “It’s nice,” Zuke said.

Ray Gagne of Biddeford, festival vice president, said years ago the dance floor was filled. Today “the attraction is music.”

Entertainment also included fireworks, music bingo, a bean supper, axe women and the Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center’s free samples of different foods of “the many flavors of Biddeford.”

Planning for next year’s festival begins in August, LaBlond said.

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