Franco American Month

The Franco American Studies Program is organizing its second annual Franco American Month at The University of Maine for the month of February, 2002. We are working with the Franco American Cente to plan a series of events focusing on the Franco American cultures of Maine. TV\u27e have planned four events, each one focusing on a different aspect of Franco American culture. We open with the fifth annual Mardi Gras dinner, to be held at York Commons on February 12,2002. This dinner has become a fadition among the local Franco American community and is well attended by many folks from on and off campus. This year we have invited Don Roy to accompany the meal with traditional Franco American fiddle music. The following week, we are sponsoring a Franco American literature reading. We have asked Rhea Côté Robbins and Paul Marion to read from their recent writings. We are planning a panel on Franco American history for the subsequent week. \u27We have asked Professor Jacques Ferland to help us organize it. Right now, we are arranging to have Doris Faucher-Provencher, a local historian from Biddeford, and Mark Richard, an assistant professor at Louisiana State University, to join Dr. Ferland in a panel on the Franco American communities of Maine. We will conclude the month long celebration with a concert hosted by folk singer Josée Vachon and storyteller Michel Parent. Local French teachers have joined us for this event. Michel Parent specializes in bilingual storytelling to students and each teacher is preparing his/her class to perform a song with Josée Vachon