MADAWASKA, Maine – Madawaska’s multi-day celebration of its Acadian heritage starts this week on Thursday, with the upcoming festival featuring new additions including a potato picking competition and baby olympics.
Acadian Festival Committee Chairperson Danielle Hebert said the “Acadian Baby Olympics” will involve parents and kids from six to 18 months old. The race will feature both crawling and walking competitions.
And the potato picking competition will let people relive memories of working on the farm and involve putting potatoes into baskets and barrels.
Both of these new additions will take place on Saturday, August 10 at the Multi-Purpose Center on 7th Avenue as part of “Family Fun Day.” The baby race is set for 1 p.m. and potato picking competition is set for 2:30. Other events at the center include an inflatable fun park, human billiards, a magic show, a firefighter obstacle course, and an animal show hosted by Mr. Drew at 10 a.m. featuring snakes, lizards and turtles.
Hebert said the organizing committee has about eight numbers, along with about 20 community volunteers.
The festival will begin on Thursday, August 8 with local restaurants competing in a contest to make the best poutine at 1 p.m. and music at the Bi-Centennial Park from 6 to 8 p.m.
The committee takes a couple months off after each annual festival to regroup, and then starts to meet around October to plan the next year’s event.
“We meet once a month, except for when we get closer, then we meet every two weeks,” she said.
Each member is responsible for a different aspect of the festival.
“And we come together during the meetings to regroup to make sure we’re checking all the boxes and that everything is covered,” Hebert said.
Friday will feature a craft fair at the Multi-Purpose Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., a book signing by Allagash-born novelist Cathie Pelletier at the St. John Valley Chamber of Commerce from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Main Street will close at 4:30 p.m. on Friday for festivities including a 6 p.m. cornhole tournament, face painting, live music, a magic show, and a beer garden and poutine eating contest hosted by Big Rick’s Burgers and Wings.
Saturday, in addition to Family Fun Day, will also feature cultural demonstrations such as ploye making, spinning, and making snowshoes at the multi-purpose building from 10 a.m. to 3 pm. And from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., the center will also host a beer garden and music by the Mallett Brothers Band from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
And on Sunday, the Acadian Festival Parade will take place at 1 p.m. on Main Street.
Hebert said a panel of judges will rank floats by the best Acadian theme, most original, most entertaining, and best non-profit, business, and school related floats.
She said the committee often finds out about the float designs around the same time as spectators.
“That should be fun,” Hebert said. “We kind of never know what we’re going to get.”
Activities will resume on Thursday, August 15, which is National Acadian Day in Canada, with a 1 p.m. Acadian Mass at Mizpah in Grand Isle, food vendors at Bi-Centennial Park from 4 p.m. to 7p.m., a 6 p.m. Tintamaree Parade, which features noisemakers and pots and pans. The festival will be capped with music by the Sunshine Boys from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Hebert said the committee is excited to be bringing the festival to Madawaska for its 46th year.
“It’s important to keep this tradition going,” she said. “And that’s why the committee does it every year. We just hope people come and enjoy themselves, because that’s really the point.”
This story was corrected to clarify that restaurants will be competing to make the best poutine on Thursday.
