Last weekend’s gathering of Franco-American Artists at the beautiful Darling Marine Center was terrific. On Saturday, well over a dozen presenters read, performed, or showed, via the computer, their work. It would be impossible to do everyone justice so very, very briefly: The incomparable performers and storytellers, Susan Poulin and Michael Parent, were at this event, and their talent, energy, and professionalism set a very high bar for the rest of us. Readers, if Susan or Michael come to a town near you, don’t hesitate to go to one of their snappy but moving performances. How lucky Maine is to have them! Denis Ledoux read from a work in progress as did Joan Vermette. David Vermette shared some work from his blog, French North American, to which I have a link on Good Eater’s side bar in the upper right-hand corner. Steven Riel read some of his fine poetry, and he has a book coming out soon. I can’t wait to have my own copy. I could go on and on, but I will not. I’m so sorry to leave out the many other fine presentations.

I do, however, want to touch on one aspect of the conference that brought both pleasure and illumination. There was a handful of young Franco-American artists, and it was great to have them at this gathering. Again, I hate to single out one at the expense of the others, but Rachelle Beaudoin, an artist who performs conceptual art, was outstanding. Her take on social issues such as immigration and on women and body image was both creative and provocative. Here’s a link to her work. It was no surprise to learn that Rachelle has won an art Fulbright grant, and with any luck, she will be one of the important artists of her generation.

The younger Franco-American artists also gave those of us who are more “mature” a much-needed reminder about our obligation to educate them about the role and the history of Franco-Americans in Maine and New England.  At the end of the conference, Denis Ledoux noted that he really wasn’t interested in programs that addressed the question of what it meant to be Franco-American. (On Friday night, there was a short film from Quebec that did this.) Denis was more interested in the actual work of other artists at the gathering. I nodded my head in agreement. We elder Francos have been asking this question for decades, and we are a little tired of it. “But wait a minute,” said Peter Patenaude of Boot & Canoe. “We younger Franco-Americans are not that familiar with the history.” In other words, it was new to them. I felt humbled by this—the elder perspective is certainly not the only perspective, and we need to be aware of our duty to pass down Franco-American history to the next generation. So thank you, Peter, for speaking up.

I am happy to report that my mother’s gingersnaps were a big hit. I made a double batch, and they were passed around during my presentation, which included a short piece about “Rochelle’s gingersnaps.” In between bites, Joan Vermette said, “These gingersnaps are crazy good.” By early Saturday evening, most of the gingersnaps were gone, and they had some stiff competition from sweets that others had brought as well as desserts provided by the wonderful cooks at Darling Marine Center. (The cooks were duly and rightly applauded on Sunday morning.)

Mom would have been so proud to know that “her” cookies were such a hit and also to know that this blog is named in her honor, which I mentioned during my presentation.

Here are some pictures from the gathering: