WEDNESDAY, June 24
Doors & Cash Bar 5pm
Event 6pm

In collaboration with the Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine, the Franco Center’s final La Rencontre of the 2025-26 season will celebrate Saint-Jean-Baptiste day on Wednesday, June 24, with dinner and dancing.

Celebrate St. Jean Baptiste Day with music, food, and community spirit at this festive gathering! Honoring French-Canadian heritage, the event features traditional songs, lively entertainment, and plenty of camaraderie. Join friends and neighbors for a joyful tribute to culture and tradition that brings generations together in celebration.

Tickets for this extra special La Rencontre must be purchased by 5 PM on June 17 so we can plan the number of meals to prepare.

Admission: Adult $22, Senior $18, Child (under 12 yr old) $12

All ticket fees are included in this price.

Meals will not be sold at the door.

Sponsor: TV5 Monde

The Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine and the Franco Center present:

A St. Jean-Baptiste Day Celebration/La Rencontre

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

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.

Deux amis, le violoneur Steve Muise et le chanteur Robert Sylvain, continuent la musique de leurs ancêtres. Ils représentent une génération d’Acadiens du Maine qui veut honorer nos traditions, le même espoir trouver l’esprit nouveau d’Acadie aux Nouvelle Angleterre. Ils jouent les airs tordus, les complaintes anciennes, et les chansons folklorique et originelles, en Français, Anglais et Franglais. Ils ont joué sur la scène principale du CMA 2014 à Madawaska avec la groupe Boréal Tordu, qui a représenté les Franco-Américains dans le compilation “Des voix s’élèvants” organisé par Zachary Richard pour Le Centre de la francophonie des Amériques.

Greg Boardman performs in the tradition of the downeast fiddler, drawing from a Scotch, Irish and French repertoire. Greg has fiddled for concerts and dances, collected and recorded Maine Indigenous music, and taught for many years. He currently plays as a soloist and with his quartet, Boardman and Sons, and is active as a leader of fiddle workshops involving musicians of all ages, abilities, disciplines and instruments. His workshops involve diverse aspects of local culture and history and are designed to enhance existing programs and inspire new ones.

Aidan Boardman is a life-long musician from Lewiston/Auburn, ME. Before, during, and after earning a Bachelor’s in Music Education at Ithaca College, he has been writing, performing and teaching music (voice, guitar, ukulele, piano) for folks of all ages. Aidan currently resides in Portland, where he teaches general elementary music in the Portland Public Schools. Recordings produced by Aidan can primarily be found under the pseudonyms Anguid, and Dreamt.

For more information or to reserve your seat, contact the Franco Center at 207-689-2000 or www.francocenter.org/shows. If you have questions about disability access or need to request disability accommodations, please contact the Franco Center. Requests should be made as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for the accommodation process.