Minutes: 27 Sept 2012

Date - Saturday, 16 August 2014 from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm (times are tentative right now)

The Congrès Mondial will be held 8-24 August 2014 in northern Maine, northwestern New Brunswick and southeastern Québec. So our Reunion will be the middle weekend of the Congrès Mondial letting folks who have only one week to attend the Congrès to join us at either the end or beginning of their trip. We are also the day after the National Acadian Day festivities scheduled for 15 August 2014 in Maine.

We have registered our Guédry-Labine and Petitpas Reunion with the 2014 Congrès Mondial Organizing Committee and are on their list of approved Reunions. We are #41 on the list at the link below. Sorry that our name is mispelled - I am working to get this corrected.

http://www.cma2014.com/rencontres-de-familles-prog

Why did we select Van Buren, Maine? Similar to the Acadian Peninsula area near Bathurst, New Brunswick in 2009, there are very few family connections to our Guédry, Labine and Petitpas families in the region. In the early 1760s Jean Guédry, Marie LeBlanc and their children were briefly at Restigouche, Québec which is within the Congrès region, but little to no trace of them remain. There are a few Guédry family members living in the Campbellton, New Brunswick area today. They descend from Romain Guédry and Marie Comeau of the St. Mary's Bay area of Nova Scotia. After looking at the population centers and where Congrès Mondial activities will occur, we decided we should have the Reunion close to the these areas and near Acadian attractions. Van Buren meets our requirements well.

Van Buren is a small Acadian community nestled on the beautiful Saint John River separating New Brunswick and Maine. It is approximately 25 miles from Madawaska, Maine; 28 miles from Edmundston, New Brunswick; 45 miles from Fort Kent, Maine; 98 miles from Campellton, New Brunswick and 102 miles from Restigouche, Québec.

Van Buren and the historic structures near it offer a window into the history and lives of Maine's Acadian community. The Acadian Village at Van Buren has 17 historic Acadian structures and there are several other Acadian farms and buildings within an hour's drive. Here are a few websites of attractions near Van Buren:

http://themainelink.com/acadianvillage/ (The Acadian Village in Van Buren website)

http://www.nps.gov/maac/planyourvisit/acadvillage.htm  (See the links at the bottom of the page)

http://www.nps.gov/maac/planyourvisit/acadlanding.htm (Acadian Landing Site and Tante Blanche Museum)

http://www.nps.gov/maac/photosmultimedia/Maine-Acadian-Culture.htm

With a bit of luck and early planning we have been able to reserve the Meeting Facility within the Acadian Village at Van Buren for our Reunion. Although we are still developing our agenda for the day, we plan to have a home-cooked, buffet meal (approximately $10/person) during the Reunion, a couple of PowerPoint-type presentations, some displays, an Acadian/Cajun band (we have a tentative confirmation from a Cajun band), free time to meet and greet cousins and family souvenirs to purchase. We anticipate having two or three books on our family available for purchase.

I have attached a pdf file of available lodging facilities within northern Maine. They are arranged alphabetically by the town.

Once we have a good estimate of the costs for the Reunion, we will establish the registration fees and provide a form for registering. We anticipate that the fees will remain approximately what they have been in the past - $40/family and $20/individual excluding the costs of the noon meal.

Below are links to a few articles on the history and culture of Maine's Acadians. Their journey from Acadia during the time of the deportations in the mid-1750s to their settling on the banks of the Saint John River in northern Maine and northwestern New Brunswick is unique and interesting.

http://scott_michaud.tripod.com/Madawaska-history.html  (Brief history of the Maine Acadians and how they reached the Saint John River)

http://www.acadian.org/mad-sett.html  (Madawaska Acadian Settlement)

http://acim.umfk.maine.edu/who_we_are.html (Acadian Culture in Maine)

We plan to send out periodic updates for our Reunion with new information as it becomes available.

Hope to see all of you in Van Buren on August 16, 2014 to make new friendships, renew old ones and enjoy the hospitality and culture of our Maine Acadian cousins.

Marty