Franco-American La Fête du Printemps festival to be held March 25-27 at Biddeford’s City Theater/Salle de l’Opéra

BIDDEFORD—Biddeford’s third annual celebration of Franco-American arts and culture has undergone a lively makeover, including a new name and new events.

The newly dubbed La Fête du Printemps—best translated as a “Celebration of Spring”—is a festival highlighting the creativity of New England’s Franco-American population. The free weekend of events will feature Franco-American folk art, French Canadian and Acadian music, and Franco-American theater performed in both English and French.

Biddeford’s City Theater/Salle de l’Opéra will host La Fête du Printemps from Friday, March 25 through Sunday, March 27 at the City Theater located in the Biddeford City Hall at 205 Main Street.

The preliminary schedule of events includes:

Friday, March 25, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Opening reception for a showing of sculptures by Biddeford native and folk artist Adelard Coté (1889-1974) at the Heart of Biddeford, 205 Main Street, courtesy of Normand Beaupré and La Kermesse.

Friday, March 25, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Boréal Tordu in concert. The band will present a mix of traditional French Canadian/Acadian music and original compositions that have delighted audiences throughout New England, Louisiana, New Brunswick, and Québec.

Saturday, March 26, 7:30 p.m.
An evening of Franco-American theater in English. Lewiston resident, Michel Parent presents “A Beautiful Game,” his hilarious and poignant vision of growing up playing hockey in Maine.
For a sample of one of Michel’s songs, click here (MP3)

There will also be a reading of an excerpt of Normand Beaupré’s “La Souillonne” performed by a local actor.

Sunday, March 27, 2:30 p.m. (matinee) and 7:30 p.m. (evening show)
A day of Franco-American and Acadian theater in French featuring performances by Anika Lirette of Moncton New Brunswick, as well as “Du Monde d’à Côté,” a Maine-based Franco-American troupe. Both the matinee and evening shows will also include the performance of a “Les Trois Anges,” a one-act play in French written by Lewiston native Paul Paré performed by Biddeford High School Students, directed by Mr. Dean Morin, French Teacher and Department Chair of World Languages at the high school.

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE! Admission to all La Fête du Printemps events is free, and made possible by generous grants from La Société St. Jean Baptiste de Bienfaisance, Le Centre de la Francophonie des Amériques, and the Heart of Biddeford as a member of the CC=ED Consortium, an intiative funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Engine, a Biddeford-based community arts organization, and the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance are providing media sponsorship.

For more information on La Fête du Printemps, visit www.lafeteduprintemps.org.
Contacts:
Tammy Ackerman at Engine, 207-229-3560, director@FeedtheEngine.org
John Maxson, La Société St. Jean Baptiste de Bienfaisance, 207-329-7395, ♫
levoyaguer@aol.com