Family reunions
bring scattered Acadians back together
By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
Over half of the 2014 World Acadian Congress family reunions approved in the first round of applications will be held in Maine, which means good things for Acadians and non-Acadians of The County alike.
Acadian Congress officials selected 61 applicants Jan. 5 to hold family reunions in conjunction with the 2014 WAC, just two years away; of those names, 31 have chosen various towns in Maine’s portion of Acadia of the Lands and Forests to host their family gatherings.
In selecting the first families, Congress officials have already met half of their goal to have 120 family reunions held in the international territory of Acadia of the Lands and Forests (a circular, border-spanning region that places Edmundston, N.B./Madawaska at its center and encompasses roughly 8,233 square miles of New Brunswick, Maine and Quebec).
More than a celebration, the World Acadian Congress is a major cultural and historical event estimated to attract well over 75,000 visitors between Aug. 8-24 in 2014.
Each family reunion held in conjunction with the WAC is estimated to draw anywhere from 700 to over 1,000 people, according to Jason Parent of Caribou, World Acadian Congress Maine international president and international family reunion task force chairman.
“You don’t have to be an Acadian family [to host a reunion],” Parent explained. “If you live in the Acadia of the Lands and Forest region and your roots aren’t Acadian, you can still hold a family reunion if you name is prominent in the region.”
Parent explained that there are even a couple location deviations for reunion events; the Gauvin family reunion, for example, is slated to be held in Van Buren primarily but as the primary reunion organizer lives in Mapleton, the family’s big evening banquet is planned to be held in Presque Isle — just outside the target region. Gauvin reunion events are still going to be based in Acadia of the Land and Forests, but an evening deviation to central Aroostook isn’t out of the question.
“Anybody that has an interest in holding a family reunion in Caribou, Presque Isle, Limestone — there are a lot of Acadians who live in this area and a lot of people of French descent that have roots in The Valley,” Parent said, adding that those interested in hosting a reunion submit an application in this second application round.
While many of the WAC-approved reunions have experience in coordinating large-scale gatherings of this magnitude, others are organizing their first foray into meeting and greeting hundreds and hundreds of their family members — after all, these are not your standard small family reunions.
“Anyone who’s had contact with that lineage or last name is eligible to attend those family reunions,” Parent explained, “So that’s part of the commitment that these families have made — which is outstanding on their part,” he added, mentioning that families celebrated at the annual Acadian Festival in Madawaska do the same thing every year — possibly one reason why Maine had a particularly strong showing in the application process.
WAC reunions last about two days and while they also are based around big meals, religious observance and genealogical findings, the entertainment aspect generally revolves around the greater activities WAC officials are holding during the celebration.
With so many events happening simultaneously and with such a diverse crowd, can members of the greater Acadian family really know those who they are celebrating with?
“No, and that’s what’s wonderful about the World Acadian Congress,” Parent explained, adding that the festival draws Acadians from approximately 44 different countries. “I think it’s a huge opportunity for people to come together from throughout the world, and meet people they’ve never met before.”
“This is our way for people who’ve been scattered everywhere around the world and for generations, and never knew each other to come together and say ‘we are truly still one people even though we don’t have just one homeland,’” said Parent.
