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More Than 1000 People Attend Voices of Kennebec Festival

By JON LAITIN, Marketing Director, Waterville Intown Business Association

More than 1,000 local residents attended the first annual Voices of the Kennebec Festival at Head of Falls in Waterville on Saturday, June 3rd.

Good weather and an exciting program brought young and old to the shores of the Kennebec River to hear ethnic music and sample ethnic foods prepared by local organizations.

Voices of the Kennebec Festival is a celebration of Waterville's cultural diversity and heritage. In what is present day Waterville and Winslow, there was originally a large Abnaki village extending for nearly a mile along the banks of the Sebasticook and Kennebec Rivers.

In 1754, as part of a struggle between the French and the English for dominance over the Kennebec River, an English militia constructed Fort Halifax in Winslow. This began a large permanent English settlement in the area. Apple orchards, sheep, cows, maple sugar, hunting, and fishing provided food for the settlers.

Beginning in the 1850s, large factories were built along the Kennebec River in Waterville and Winslow. This economic growth and the Maine Central Railroad drew large immigrant populations to the area, especially from Lebanon and the Beauce Region of Quebec.

To celebrate the area's cultural diversity, the festivities opened with a benediction of the Kennebec River by Penobscot Elder Arnold Neptune.

This was followed with music by The Penobscot Singers, Fiddle Box, The Al Gardner Ensemble, and The Liberty Balalaika Ensemble. The performances sparked dancing and foot tapping throughout the day.

Special events for children included face painting and games from Colonial days.

The Festival is an offspring of the Kennebec/Chaudiere International Corridor Project, a commission created by Gov. Angus King and Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard to promote heritage tourism in the region.

This year's Voices of the Kennebec Festival was made possible by grants from the Maine Community Foundation and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, the Waterville Rotary Club, and a Gifford's Ice Cream Grant from the Maine Office of Tourism. Twenty local organizations were festival co-sponsors.

The Festival was also a finale to National Trails Day events on the same day, including hiking, bicycling, and kayaking in addition to guided walks and a dedication of the Benedict Arnold Park and Boat Landing.

Editor's Note: This article describes the first Voices of the Kennebec Festival, held on June 3, 2000. The festival has been held each year since, on the first Saturday in June. For more information, contact Tracey Steuber in the Office of the Mayor at (207) 873-7131, x 201.