Celebrate Michigan's 2016 French Canadian Heritage week with music, dance, folk songs, storytimes, more ...

"Je te plumerai la tête ...Alouette!" sing the members of Maple Sugar Folk during their recent concert of French Canadian folk songs at the Portage Lake District Library. The group, led by Dave Bezotte, fourth from left, will sing again this Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Lake Linden Farmers' Market -- a preview of Michigan's coming French Canadian Heritage Celebration next week. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)*

LAKE LINDEN -- Maple Sugar Folk will offer a preview of next week's French Canadian Heritage Celebration with Live music and French-Canadian Folk Songs from noon to 1 p.m. and possibly later during the Lake Linden Farmers' Market Saturday, Sept. 24. The market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring a blanket and enjoy the goods and the music.

Another preview event will be Portage Lake District Library's Children's Storytime with French-Canadian stories and crafts and French-Canadian Folk Songs at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. The library is at 58 Huron St. in Houghton.

During the 2015 French Canadian Heritage Celebration, children at the Portage Lake District Library Storytime enjoy a story about voyageurs read by Chris Alquist, the library's community programs coordinator. This year the library will host a French Canadian Children's Storytime at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, and at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, and Thursday, Sept. 29. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

Here is a schedule of the 2016 French Canadian Heritage events coming up next week:

September 28 (Wednesday)

10:15 a.m. CHILDREN’S STORYTIME AT PORTAGE LAKE DISTRICT LIBRARY, 58 Huron St., Houghton. French-Canadian stories and crafts. 

7 p.m. -9 p.m. DANCE at the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy, Hancock. Celebrate Finlandia University’s Festival Ruska and Michigan’s French-Canadian Heritage Week by dancing to Finnish and French-Canadian music by the Thimbleberry Band: folk dances, waltzes, schottisches, polkas and other favorites. $6 admission.

September 29 (Thursday)

10:15 a.m. CHILDREN’S STORYTIME AT PORTAGE LAKE DISTRICT LIBRARY, 58 Huron St., Houghton. French-Canadian stories and crafts. 

7 p.m. - 8 p.m. CONCERT AT THE CHASSELL HERITAGE CENTER, 42373 Hancock Ave, Chassell. Lively fiddle tunes and step dancing by Emma and Susan Dlutkowski and French-Canadian folk and response songs lead by Maple Sugar Folk. Doors open at 6 p.m., so come early to view the exhibits. Free admission - donations appreciated.

During the 2015 French Canadian Concert at the Chassell Heritage Center, Emma Dlutkowski performs on the fiddle with lively step dancing, accompanied by her mother, Susan Dlutkowski on keyboard and her dad, Dave Harmon, on percussion. This year Emma and Susan will perform at the Chassell Heritage Center on Thursday, Sept. 29, along with Maple Sugar Folk. (Keweenaw Now file photo)  

October 2 (Sunday)

3:00 p.m. ORGAN RECITAL BY FR. CORBIN EDDY AT ST. JOSEPH’S CHURCH, 701 Calumet St., Lake Linden. Performed on the Quebec-made Casavant Frères pipe organ, the recital will feature organ compositions by French-Canadian and French composers and will include vocal soloists and Gregorian Chant. There will be no admission charge, but a free-will offering will be taken.

For more information, contact David Bezotte at dbezotte@yahoo.com or 906-370-4956.

* Visit the Maple Sugar Folk Facebook page for more photos and videos of their performances.

In Marquette, French Canadian Heritage will be celebrated on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016, in the Beaumier Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University. Click here for the events.

Celebrate French-Canadian Heritage Week with dance, song, stories Sept. 30-Oct.3

Maple Sugar Folk will perform French Canadian folk and response songs on Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Chassell Heritage Center as part of this week's French-Canadian Heritage Week. Here, led by musician/ vocalist Dave Bezotte, left, the group is pictured during a concert at the Carnegie Museum in Houghton last May. Singers include, from left, Barbara Lide, Nanno Rose (back row), Karin Schlenker, Marcia Goodrich (standing for a solo), Amanda Binoniemi, Barry Pegg, Elizabeth Murrell, Bill Francis and Janet Wieber. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

HANCOCK, CHASSELL, HOUGHTON -- French-Canadian Heritage will be celebrated this week with dance, music and stories. Here is the schedule:

DANCE: From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, dance to French-Canadian fiddle tunes and songs by the Thimbleberry Band (Oren Tikkanen, Libby Meyer, Matthew Durocher, and David Bezotte) with caller Jill VanderMeer at the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy, Hancock. $6 admission.

CONCERT: From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, enjoy lively fiddle tunes and step dancing by Emma and Susan Dlutkowski and French-Canadian folk and response songs lead by Maple Sugar Folk at the Chassell Heritage Center, 42373 Hancock Ave, Chassell. MI. Doors open at 6 p.m., so come early to view the exhibits. Free admission -- donations appreciated.

CHILDREN’S STORYTIME: at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, and Thursday, Oct. 1, and at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, Storytime will feature French-Canadian stories and crafts at the Portage Lake District Library, 58 Huron St., Houghton. Kids will take an imaginary journey from France to Canada, clap their hands to the rhythm of a recorded song sung in French, listen to stories about the north, learn how to count in French, make a voyageur canoe, and take home some maple sugar treats.

CANCELLATION of Oct. 3 event:  Since the Lake Linden Farmers Market ended on Sept. 26, the previously scheduled Oct. 3 musical performance for the market has been cancelled.

For more information, contact Dave Bezotte at dbezotte@yahoo.com or 906-482-4956.

Kivajat Dancers to present highlights from Finland trip, Finnish Folk Music and Dance Aug. 20 in Chassell

The Kivajat Finnish Dancers perform at the 2014 Parade of Nations. They performed at the children's international folk dance festival in Turku, Finland, in July 2015 and will present highlights of their trip on Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Chassell Heritage Center. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

CHASSELL -- Enjoy an evening of Finnish Folk Music and Dance at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Chassell Heritage Center. Our local Kivajat Finnish Dancers attended a children's international folk dance festival in Turku, Finland, in July. Come to enjoy an evening with them, as they share their homecoming program and a few highlights from their trip.

These Kivajat dancers demonstrate their skills at fancy footwork during a stick dance they performed at the 2014 Parade of Nations international entertainment in Houghton's Dee Stadium. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Ilon Kaiku Kantele Ensemble will add a splash of traditional music as well. Both groups, directed by Kay Seppala, are sponsored by the Finnish American Heritage Center at Finlandia University.

Chassell Heritage Center is located at 42373 Hancock Ave, Chassell, Mich. From US 41 in downtown Chassell, turn west on 2nd Street. The building is air conditioned! The doors open at 4 p.m., so come early to enjoy the museum exhibits.

UPDATED: Trae McMaken, -- fiddler, singer, storyteller -- to perform in Chassell July 12

CHASSELL -- Trae McMaken will perform in concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 12, at the Chassell Heritage Center (2nd Street, Chassell) offering songs, fiddle tunes and stories highlighting our area’s French-Canadian heritage, featuring Oren Tikkanen on guitar.

Free – Donations Appreciated!

Beaver Island News on the 'Net says:
- "Trae McMaken astounded the audience."
- "A terrific fiddler and singer he definitely is!"

For more information, contact Dave Bezotte at dbezotte@yahoo.com or 482-4956.

UPDATE: Fiddling and Storytelling Workshops by Trae McMaken July 13 at the Chassell Heritage Center

Fiddling: 11 a.m. - Noon, $10 -- The workshop will cover 1-3 French Canadian tunes along with ornamentation, bowings, and other stylistics of French Canadian and Québécois fiddling. Important aspects of French fiddling include crooked tunes, lifting and bouncing the bow, ways of bowing triplets, and more. Discussion of podorhythmie (foot percussion) can also be included if students desire.

Storytelling: 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., $20 -- Want to learn how to tell historical, personal, or traditional stories? Taking a storytelling workshop could help improve your ability to communicate through storytelling whether you are a performer, an educator, a counselor, a pastor, or simply like to share life with others. This two-hour workshop will focus on simple, straightforward ways to tell stories more effectively and provide a chance for practice and reflection. Preregistration is not required. For more information, contact Dave Bezotte at 482-4956 or dbezotte@yahoo.com.

Having grown up on the Michigan-Ontario border, Trae imbibed varied styles of fiddle playing including Irish, Scottish, Québécois, Ontario Old Time, and Michigan Old Time.  As a storyteller, Trae's conversational style brings a depth and appreciation to musical performance or can stand alone as an entertaining and educational experience of the old art of the raconteur.

Dance to Thimbleberry Band at Chassell French-Canadian Soirée Dec. 9

The Thimbleberry Band will play French-Canadian dance music at Chassell's Old-Fashioned Christmas French-Canadian Soirée on Friday, Dec. 9, at the Chassell Heritage Center. In this photo some of the Thimbleberry musicians -- from left, Oren Tikkanen, Libby Meyer, Matthew Durocher and Dave Bezotte -- play ethnic tunes during a musical event at the Keweenaw Heritage Center. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

CHASSELL -- Celebrate Chassell’s Joie de Vivre and Old-Fashioned Christmas at a traditional French-Canadian Soirée (evening dance party) from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9, at the Chassell Heritage Center (2nd St. and Hancock Ave, one block west of US 41 in Chassell).

The Thimbleberry Band (Libby Meyer on fiddle; Oren Tikkanen on guitar, mandolin, and vocals; Matthew Durocher on bass; Dave Bezotte on piano, accordion and vocals; and Coleman Segal on mandolin) will play dance music from French-Canadian and other local traditions.

Admission is free, but donations to help cover costs are appreciated. Take a break from the holiday rush to enjoy music, dance, refreshments, and a time of celebration with family, neighbors and friends!

The event is sponsored by the Chassell Historical Organization.

Maple Sugar Folk to perform at opening of "Across the Border" exhibit Aug. 4 in Chassell

CHASSELL -- Maple Sugar Folk will sing at the Chassell Heritage Center at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Aug 4, under the direction of Accordionist/singer David Bezotte. This will open a new exhibition, "Across the Border: Canadians in the Upper Peninsula," on loan from Northern Michigan University’s Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center.*

Ralph Horvath, soloist, and Maple Sugar Folk sing "Youpe, Youpe! Sur la Rivière," a Canadian folk song, during the July 26 Benefit Recital for Omega House hospice, held at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hancock. Singers also include, from left, Barbara Lide, Marcia Goodrich, Jan Wieber, Amanda Binoniemi, Karin Schlenker and Barry Pegg. Accompanist for the group is Ruth Robertson. Maple Sugar Folk will perform at 7 p.m., Aug. 4, at the Chassell Heritage Center and at noon, Aug. 5, outside Portage Lake District Library. (Video clip by Keweenaw Now)

Light refreshments will be provided.

Across the Border focuses primarily on the immigration of Canadians to the Upper Peninsula during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, the story begins much farther back than that with the Anishinaabeg people who have lived on both sides of what they view as purely a political border for centuries. The very nature of this border, which has been seen at times as irrelevant and porous, is discussed in this exhibition as is the nature of Canadian identity as it relates to the immigration of people to the Upper Peninsula from Québec and Ontario.

This display from the "Across the Border" exhibit relates the immigration history of Dave Bezotte's family of Chassell. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)*

One of the most interesting parts of this exhibition is the spotlight on specific families who came from Canada to the Upper Peninsula. The exhibit looks at the experiences they had before and after they immigrated to the region. There will also be a focus on specific communities that had significant settlements of Canadian people. Chassell and Lake Linden are among the communities featured.

"Across the Border" will be on display through Aug. 30, 2011. The Chassell Heritage Center is located at 42373 North Hancock Street, Chassell (from US 41, turn west onto 2nd Street) and is open Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursdays 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The exhibition was funded by Cliffs Natural Resources, NMU's College of Arts and Sciences and the Province of Québec Chicago Delegation.

Maple Sugar Folk to perform at Portage Library Aug. 5

HOUGHTON -- Maple Sugar Folk will perform from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5, at Music on the Menu outside the Portage Lake District Library in Houghton. This group of ten singers celebrates the Keweenaw’s French-Canadian heritage with music. They sing a variety of traditional folk songs and invite the audience to participate and sing along.

Everyone is invited to bring a lunch, relax, and enjoy the lunch hour while listening to some great music. In the event of bad weather, the program will be held in the community room.

This event is part of the library’s Summer Reading Program and is free and open to all. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

* Editor's Note: See more photos from the "Across the Border" exhibit in our slide show, Marquette Exhibits.