Regional planning begins in earnest
Word from Augusta that Maine will commit $250,000 a year for the next four years to fund the state’s participation in the 2014 World Acadian Congress have bolstered regional efforts to host the largest cultural event ever held in the state. In total, World Acadian Congress 2014 organizers are hoping to contribute a total of $2.1 million to the border-spanning event.
Representatives with the Maine Delegation to the official international organizing body for the fifth World Acadian Congress (WAC), supported by Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development (LEAD) and legislators from throughout Aroostook County, were in Augusta two weeks ago to speak with state officials about the critical need for funding to keep Maine an active and fully involved partner in efforts to produce the cultural event. The WAC is expected to draw more than 50,000 visitors to northern Maine, northwestern New Brunswick and southeastern Quebec in August 2014 and bring with it an estimated $50 million economic boost to the cross-border region.
“We were notified late last week by state officials and legislative delegation members from The County that Maine would be a full partner in this effort and assured us that the necessary funds targeted as the state’s contribution to financing the World Acadian Congress — $1 million — would be realized,” said Jason Parent, president of the Maine delegation to the international organizing committee of the 2014 WAC. “We could not be more thrilled about this news. After several months of uncertainty concerning both the federal and state funding for this initiative, we now can move forward,” He added. “This would not be possible without the strong backing of the entire Aroostook County delegation and support of the LePage Administration for their investment in a project that promises great returns for the state.”
Although Maine’s commitment of $1 million ensures the project will move forward, American organizers continue grappling with the challenge of obtaining an additional $1 million in federal funds.
Efforts to allocate federal dollars were championed last year by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who had crafted legislation in the form of a Congressional appropriation; the funds were to be part of the FY 2011 federal budget, which has not cleared Congress yet.
The $2 million in combined federal/state money and $100,000 to be raised by local municipal appropriations over four years represent Maine’s commitment to the $11 million international budget for the planning and activity leading up to 2014 and the two-and-a-half weeks of activity that year in August.
With the state’s contribution of funds secured, planning in the Maine sector of the newly created international region and tourist destination Acadia of the Lands and Forests, where the activity will take place, can begin in earnest.
A 25-member regional coordinating committee, formed 14 months ago to mobilize Maine’s effort and plan activity in the region, will work collaboratively with the state’s delegates to the international organizing committee and the newly hired executive director Leo-Paul Charest to prepare the northernmost part of the state to welcome visitors from around the world.
“There is a great deal of work to be done,” said Don Levesque, president of the Maine Regional Coordinating Committee. “We have some excellent people on board and a great deal of excitement about Congress and what it will mean for our area. Residents of the St. John Valley and Aroostook County have been so anxious to really get the planning for this event started, and now we can.”
One of the first orders of business on the Maine side of the border will be to resume the search for a regional coordinator to help move the planning effort forward. Maine organizers previously halted their search for a staffer last fall after funding from the federal government became less certain and in anticipation of a meeting with state officials to secure state money.
“New Brunswick and Quebec both have their coordinators working under the new executive director collaboratively with the regional coordinating committees in their respective provinces creating a strategic plan for the coming months and years — it is critical that we do the same here in Maine,” Parent said.
Maine organizers have the framework for such a plan already started.
Through a public planning forum and visioning session held last June in Fort Kent, a framework was established identifying several areas of focus for the region heading toward 2014. In addition, the five Maine representatives on the international organizing committee and the executive board of the Maine Regional Coordinating Committee ratified an immediate term plan for the coming months in late January.
On the immediate agenda, American WAC officials will reach out to the local communities in the St. John Valley to increase public participation in event planning as well as identifying individuals or groups who would might consider hosting a family reunion in the Maine sector in 2014.
It is anticipated that more than 100 family reunions, ranging in size from 700 to 1,500 participants each, will be held throughout the Acadian region in August 2014.
“In the coming months, applications to host family reunions will be released on both sides of the border with an anticipated six month period for volunteer organizers to submit proposals for consideration by the international organizational committee,” Parent explained.
In addition to Parent and Levesque, Maine is represented on the official governing body for the 2014 WAC by Lise Pelletier of Fort Kent, Denise Cote of Madawaska and Anne Roy of Van Buren.
The World Acadian Congress or “Congres Mondial Acadien” was first held in the Moncton, New Brunswick area in 1994. Since then, the event has been held in Louisiana (1999), Nova Scotia (2004) and most recently in the Acadian Peninsula region of New Brunswick in 2009. The two- to three- week celebration traditionally held in August to coincide with August 15 – the Acadian Feast Day – draws Acadians from throughout the world to gather at the event celebrating their culture and heritage.
Festivities typically include more than 300 events, including family reunions, popular regional celebrations, ceremonies, sporting events, cultural events, shows, forums, and conferences.
Additional information regarding the 2014 WAC can be obtained by contacting Parent at 551-5784 or by emailing jparent@nmcc.edu.
