Biddeford city councilors are refusing to spend taxpayer money to help fund La Kermesse, a popular annual festival celebrating Franco-American culture.
The council in York County’s largest city pulled funding for it in the annual $51 million city budget, according to Saco Bay News.
La Kermesse Treasurer Paul Gagne asked the council to reconsider funding the organization.
Gagne said after money was embezzled from La Kermesse in 2010, it took 15 years to get paid back the lost money.
“After 2010, it’s been one year at a time,” he said.
He asked the council to consider giving the nonprofit La Kermesse $7,500, half the amount it had originally sought.
Councilor Abigail Woods made a motion to include in the budget $7500 for La Kermesse, but the motion failed.
Fellow Councilor Lisa Vadnais said she’d like to be able to fund La Kermesse, but voted against it because the overall city budget was already too high.
La Kermesse was also asking for a $3,000 waiver in fees for the festival, which, combined with the request for $7500 was what Councilor Roger Beaupre called “double dipping.”
“If we are going to support waiving fees to the tune of $3,000, I am not going to support $7500,” Beaupre said.
The motion to give La Kermesse funding failed 5 to 2, with Councilors Woods and David Kurtz in support and Councilors Vadnais, Beaupre, Dylan Doughty, Pat Boston, and Jake Pierson opposed.
The 43rd annual La Kermesse Franco-Americaine De Biddeford set for June 18 – 21, celebrates the state’s French and French Canadian heritage.
La Kermesse began in 1982 with the motto “C’est Le Temps” the literal French definition for ’It is the time.”
The festival, with live music, games and entertainment, faced significant financial difficulties in 2009 and 2010, nearly shutting down.
Despite surviving, the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the festival in 2020 and 2021.
Let them have a car wash or a bake sale .
Collection jars and bottle drives .
Public taxes shouldn’t be spent on this kind of frivolity .
Seems like a piddly amount of money to support an event celebrating your heritage that built the city of Biddeford with the migration of the French that came down from Quebec to work in the mills throughout the state of Maine. Biddeford and Saco were built on that. It’s good to teach kids their history/culture and where and why there antecedents came from. It instills a sense of pride in a good way as well as a sense of belonging to something important, bigger than self, and building community.
Maybe we could find $7500.00 from the taxpayers to pay for a parade in Lewiston celebrating Somali heritage, pride and sense of belonging …..
What’s fair for “ Franco Americans “ is fair for “ Somali Americans “ …..
Let’s have the taxpayers fund the numerous LGBTQ parades and queer festivals while we’re at it .
Good for some …..Good for all .