2014 WORLD ACADIAN CONGRESS!

"ACADIA OF THE LANDS AND FORESTS - In a much-anticipated announcement, officials of the fifth World Acadian Congress launched on Tuesday the first round of open applications for groups interested in hosting family reunions during the two-and-a-half week celebration coming in August 2014.

"The call for proposals of gatherings in northern Maine, northwest New Brunswick, and southeast Quebec was made at the Historic Acadian Landing Site in St. David, Maine. Years ago, Acadian ancestors raised a 14-foot marble cross in honor of the pioneer Acadian and Québécois families who settled on both shores of the St. John River in 1785. St. David sits across from the first parish of the Madawaska Territory, Saint-Basile, New Brunswick.

"It is most fitting that we come here to this spot to make the most significant announcement to date about how the 2014 World Acadian Congress will unfold in Acadia of the Lands and Forests," said Emilien Nadeau, president of the international organizing committee. "Within days of the news in August of 2009 that we would have the honor of hosting this event in 2014, there has been a high level of interest from people in Maine, New Brunswick, Québec, and from outside our region, to host family reunions in our territory. We are now soliciting proposals and have a well-defined process in place to determine where these reunions will take place."