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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261121T093000
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SUMMARY:Le petit rassemblement des artistes franco-américains: A celebration of modern expression
DESCRIPTION:The Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine invites you to join us at USM’s Lewiston campus\, 51 Westminster St. on Saturday\, November 21\, 2026 at 9:30 am for a day-long event featuring a panel discussion of Franco-American creatives and workshops with local artists and writers. The event is free and open to the public\, thanks to our generous sponsors\, Maine PoutineFest\, Central Maine Federal Credit Union\, Schooner Estates\, and the Quebec Delegation in Boston. We ask that you RSVP at least one week ahead of the event! \nThe day will begin with a panel discussion with presenters Joseph Bolton\, Cindy Larock\, Jean Pouliot and Jeri Thériault discussing how their Franco-American identity informs their artistic practice. Following the panel\, there will be a Q&A with the presenters and a break for lunch\, which will be provided. After lunch\, the four panelists will lead their workshops: two at a time for 75 minutes each. Attendees will need to select which workshop they’d like to attend. We’ll begin the first two workshops at 1 pm\, followed by two more presentations at 2:30 pm. \n  \nPresenters & Workshop Descriptions: \n  \nJoseph Bolton was born in Pawtucket\, Rhode Island and growing up enjoyed hearing the stories told by his French Canadian grandparents and great aunts of a mysterious and magical place called Québec\, otherwise known as “the place we came from.” Joseph is of French-Canadian/Canadian First Nations ancestry and is inspired by the stories of his heritage. He lives in Massachusetts and enjoys hiking and skiing through Québec and New England landscapes. He has been featured on podcasts in the United States and Canada\, and Dance of Creation is the third volume of his acclaimed Old Grandmother’s Tree book series. Joseph’s workshop will focus on rediscovering your family stories and how the folklore style of storytelling tells deeper universal truths of human life. \n  \nCindy Larock has been teaching and leading traditional dancing for over 40 years\, ranging from instructing numerous apprentices as a master artist in the Maine Arts Commission’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program to presenting workshops at festivals\, schools\, and community events. She has also mentored young fiddlers\, etc.\, via a youth folk orchestra she founded in 2014. At Cindy’s workshop\, Keeping the Franco Flame Alive Through Music & Dance\, attendees will learn about what defines traditional French Canadian/Franco-American music and the dancing that it inspires\, and will also have a chance to try their hands (and feet!) at doing some Quebecois social dancing. \n  \nJean Pouliot: Born into a French-speaking parish in Manchester\, New Hampshire in the 1950s\, Jean experienced Vatican II\, French-Canadian culture in crisis and the political tumult of the 1960s. Jean’s songs\, stories\, and poems examine\, express\, and share his heritage. He holds a Bachelor’s in psychology and a Master’s degree in Catholic ministry. He is married with two grown sons\, is retired after forty years in the Technology field\, and lives in New England. His books can be found on Amazon and Substack. Jean’s workshop will guide attendees through his four-step method for translating English to French with the assistance of Google’s free version of artificial intelligence (AI). He will lead with a short lecture on AI\, its perils and its promise\, and how he navigates them. His method not only results in translated copy but provides the user with a practical tutorial in French for a work they care about\, be it a book or a letter to a French-speaking friend or family member. Users will encounter real-world examples of French grammar\, idioms\, spelling rules (e.g.\, where accents are needed) and more. AI’s real-time translation power allows users to try different solutions quickly without exhausting a human teacher’s patience. *Attendees will need to bring a piece of writing to translate and a laptop or tablet.* \n  \nJeri Thériault grew up in Waterville\, Maine. Her poetry collections include Self-Portrait as Homestead\, Radost\, my red\, and (M)OTHER. She is the editor of the anthology Wait: Poems from the Pandemic and the current poetry editor for Résonance. Her poems and reviews have appeared widely. Her honors include A Fulbright Exchange Award\, a Maine Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship\, a Monson Arts Fellowship\, the 2022 Norwood Prize (New Ohio Review)\, and a Maine Literary Award. Jeri currently conducts cross-disciplinary workshops and collaborates with musicians and other poets in a group called MuseMusic. Jeri’s workshop\,  Using Research and/or Current Events in Creative Writing Projects\, relates to her ongoing research and writing about pre-deportation Acadian life.  Participants will discuss examples of poems and creative nonfiction or essays by authors such as Susan Howe\, Alison Hawthorn Deming\, and Ada Limón\, all of whom use research and or current events in their creative work. Workshop participants will then have one or two opportunities to begin drafts inspired by these prompts and handouts. We’ll end the workshop by sharing some of these drafts (volunteers only!). \n  \nZoom and recorded for those unable to join us live or in-person. Email Anna for more information at anna.faherty@maine.edu. \n  \nFor in-person attendance\, registration is required. Here’s a link to the registration form: https://forms.gle/NoxVw7KmTmUyD1o59.  We ask that you RSVP at least one week ahead of the event! \n  \nFor more information or to register for this event\, contact the FAC archivist\, Anna Faherty at anna.faherty@maine.edu or by phone (207) 753-6545. If you have questions about disability access or need to request disability accommodations (e.g. sign language interpreters\, materials in electronic format\, etc.)\, please contact Anna. Requests should be made as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for the accommodation process.
URL:https://usm.maine.edu/calendar-of-events/event/le-petit-rassemblement-des-artistes-franco-americains-a-celebration-of-modern-expression/
LOCATION:ME
CATEGORIES:Community and culture,Lecture or panel discussion,Visual and performing arts
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261202T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261202T150000
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SUMMARY:Franco-American Holiday House Party with Josée Vachon
DESCRIPTION:The Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine invites you to join us at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston campus at 51 Westminster St.\, Room 170\, on Wednesday\, December 2\, 2026 at 1:00 pm for a holiday house party singalong with Josée Vachon. The event is free and open to the public\, thanks to the generous support of the event’s sponsor\, Schooner Estates\, and our season sponsor The Quebec Delegation in Boston. In the event of inclement weather\, the event will be rescheduled for December 9th at 1:00 pm. \nAt this unique\, participatory event\, Josée will perform a mixture of holiday\, humor and old favorites\, while leading the crowd in call and response and singalong portions. Lyric sheets will be provided\, and refreshments will be served. \nJosée Vachon debuted her singing career in 1980 with support from the Franco-American Center at the University of Maine while a student editor at the Center’s newspaper\, Le FAROG Forum\, quickly winning over audiences across New England.  Born in Lac-Mégantic\, Québec and raised in central Maine from an early age\, Josée shares traditional and popular French-Canadian folk songs as well as originals she composed to share her devotion to her language and heritage.  She has 12 solo recordings\, plus two more with the female trio\, Chanterelle\, which she co-founded in 1993 with fiddler\, Donna Hébert\, and singer-guitarist\, Liza Constable. \nFor 11 years (1987-1998) she hosted over 500 episodes of “Bonjour!”\, the most widely seen French-language television program produced in the U.S.\, which was taped weekly in Manchester\, NH\, and aired on Maine Public Television as well as various cable stations across the U.S. East Coast\, Louisiana\, and Canada\, and reaching over 3 million households.  She has performed at Constitution Hall in D.C.\, in Canada as a musical ambassadrice for Franco-Americans\, as well as in Martinique (Congrès Mondial de Centre International d’Études Françaises (CIEF))\, Germany (l’Institut français)\, and France (festivals & schools). She has also appeared on France television Le grand echiquier (with Yves Duteil & Gilles Vigneault)\, Espace francophone\, Les demons du midi\, and Coup d’oeil on Radio-Canada\, as well as TV Ontario documentaries. \n  \nThe event will be recorded\, and those unable to join us in-person can access the recording after the fact. Because of space limitations we are requiring registration ahead of time for this event! For more information or to register to attend this event in-person\, contact the FAC archivist\, Anna Faherty\, at anna.faherty@maine.edu\, or by phone at (207) 753-6545. If you have questions about disability access or need to request disability accommodations (e.g. sign language interpreters\, materials in electronic format\, etc.)\, please contact Anna. Requests should be made as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for the accommodation process.
URL:https://usm.maine.edu/calendar-of-events/event/franco-american-holiday-house-party-with-josee-vachon/
LOCATION:Franco-American Collection — LAC\, 51 Westminster St\, Lewiston\, ME\, 04240\, United States
CATEGORIES:Visual and performing arts
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