The Chautauqua & French-Canadian/Metis Festival is this weekend and will begin tomorrow afternoon. The 39th annual event, put on by the Association of the French of the North board (AFRAN) would be celebrating the 40th year of the event; however, it was canceled last year because of safety concerns with COVID-19.
There will be great entertainment throughout the week, and the Treasurer of the AFRAN board Jerry Amiot highlighted some of the big performances. “The program is fairly similar for Saturday and Sunday this year,” said Amiot. “At 12:30 p.m. those days, our President Virgil Benoit will give a welcome, and then at 1:00 p.m. each day, the band Poitin will play. And then, at 2:00 p.m. each day, Jan Smith, who is a storyteller, will talk about tales of midwifery.”
The band Poition (pah-CHEEN) is a six-piece band that plays fiddle, banjos, guitars, mandolins, Irish bouzouki, bodhran, harmonica, bass, and drums. The O’Neil’s Family Musicians will also be performing on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Corey Medina & the brothers will perform Sunday at 3:30 p.m. These two performances replace the Ivan Flett Memorial Dancers who couldn’t make the festival due to concerns about crossing the Canadian border.
The event will begin on Friday night, however, as there will be a Potluck Picnic at 6:30 p.m. and a Bonfire with songs and storytelling at 8:30 p.m.
Admission for the event is free; however, the AFRAN board needs donations to keep the event going each year. Amiot talked about one of the big ways people can get involved. “Each day, there will be a silent auction, where there will be 40 items to bid on, and this is one way we use to raise money, said Amiot.” There will also be jars passed around during the event and performances for people to give free-will donations.
The board does receive $10,000 from the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council in the form of a grant but still needs an extra $12,000 each year as the event costs around $22,000 to put on. The donations from the public allow the AFRAN board to continue bringing the great event back each year. The board also uses any earnings that they receive from the food tent to help cover the costs.
The food tent will be on Saturday and Sunday and open from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Amiot talked about what the menu will look like this year. “This year will be featuring a prime burger and a traditional French-Canadian Turkey, known as “Meat pie,” said Amiot. “You can also select a meal, and you’ll be getting two different sides to choose from.”
With this event being in its 39th year, Amiot talked about how special it is to continue to bring it back each year. “It’s really almost remarkable when you think about how little funding there was back in the early 2000s,” said Amiot. “We had some minimal events during that time, and somehow we hung in there, and now we have plenty of events for the children and lots of vendors for our event.”
The festival will take place at the Old Crossing & Treaty Park 9 miles in Huot, Minnesota, Southwest of Red Lake Falls or 7 miles Northeast of Gentilly on County Road 11. For more information on the event or directions to the park, you can go to www.FrenchCanadianAFRAN.org.
