A St. Jean-Baptiste Day Celebration/La Rencontre

The Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine and the Franco Center invite you to a celebration of St. Jean-Baptiste Day! Join us at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at the Franco Center, 46 Cedar St., Lewiston. Ticket prices include dinner and are $22/adults; $18/seniors; and $12/children under 12. Ticket sales end June 17, which is one week before the event, so get your tickets now! This program is made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Québec Delegation in Boston, TV5MONDE and Schooner Estates.
This collaboration between the USM Franco-American Collection and Franco Center promises to be an exciting tribute to St. Jean-Baptiste celebrations of days gone by. St. Jean-Baptiste, the patron saint of Québec, inspired large-scale parades, parties, and special religious masses in Lewiston between the late-19th century and the mid-20th century. According to the Sun Journal in 1940, the St. Jean-Baptiste celebration was so large, they needed two separate parades to include all the floats and participants. Traditionally, a local boy with curly, blond hair would be selected to portray St. Jean-Baptiste in the parade–and don’t worry, we’ll have pictures to prove it! If you are one of these St. Jean-Baptistes, we hope you are able to join us this June 24th to be recognized at the event.
The doors will open at 5 p.m., along with the cash bar and conversation in French and English. At 6 p.m., dinner will begin. Music, featuring Robert Sylvain and Steve Muise, will begin at 6:30 p.m.; and Greg Boardman and his son Aidan Boardman will take the stage at 8 p.m. The dinner menu will include Franco-American foods, featuring Pâté chinois! There will also be a vegetarian version of Pâté chinois, and a green salad and rolls. Water, lemonade and coffee drinks are free with your ticket, and sodas and bar drinks available for purchase. Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults: $22
Seniors: $18
Children 12 and under: $12
About the musicians:
Two friends, fiddler Steve Muise and singer Robert Sylvain play music rooted in the traditions of their shared Acadian heritage. Both from musical families, they inherited a treasure trove of catchy maritime fiddle tunes and old French-language folk songs which they bring together with modern sensibilities and original material that speaks to the continuing influence of Franco-American culture in New England. The result is a rhythmically unstoppable, lyrically fantastic blend of musical history and innovation that invites audiences from all backgrounds to revel in authentic Acadian joie de vivre.