Foire Brayonne

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The Foire Brayonne is a music and cultural festival held each summer in Edmundston, New Brunswick since 1979. The Foire is often considered the biggest French festival held in Canada outside the province of Quebec. This year's festival was held August 2 to August 6, 2006. The next edition will be held August 1 to August 5, 2007.

1 History
2 Origins of the name Foire Brayonne
3 Local Dishes
4 Major Attractions
5 Criticism
6 Foire Brayonne Directors
7 External links

[edit] History

The first festival was held in 1979 and up to 1985 was a 10 day event. Today the festival is still running strong with five days of activities for all ages.It is always held the week before the New Brunswick Civic Holiday, which is the 1st Monday of August.

[edit] Origins of the name Foire Brayonne

The name "Foire Brayonne" stems from the word "Foire" which is French for fair. "Brayonne" comes from the word "Les Brayons" which is the name given to residents of Edmundston and the surrounding Madawaska County area. There has been many disputes as to why this term is used. The word is defined as someone who mixes (such as pancakes or laundry). However some other historians dispute the terms as something else when it comes to the people of Edmundston. They refer to their ancestors' harvesting of reeds from the St.John river valley. These were known as "braye" which they used to weave baskets and make brooms. Ergo the term "brayon"; harvester of braye.

[edit] Local Dishes

Many local dishes are served during the Festival such as the ploye, which is a pancake type mix of water and buckwheat flour. There is also chicken stew which is chicken mixed with dumplings and potatoes. It is not similar to chicken noodle soup.They also enjoy Cretons which is a pork based pate.

Another dish is the Teriyaki on a stick where a thin piece of meat is dipped into a mix of teriyaki and barbecue sauce and grilled over an open fire. It was introduced in the late 90's and has become a Foire favorite.

[edit] Major Attractions

One of the Foire's major attractions has been the live concerts. Here is a partial list of artists who have appeared at the Foire:

René Simard and Nathalie Simard (1983)
Véronique Béliveau (1985)
The Box (1986 and 1987)
Too Many Cooks (1987)
Glass Tiger (1989)
Celine Dion (1991)
Julie Masse (1992)
Les BB (1992)
Alannah Myles (1993)
Roch Voisine (1994)
France D'Amours (1994)
Beau Dommage (1995)
James Ledgerwood (1995)
Kevin Parent (1995)
Éric Lapointe (1994 and 1995)
Moist (1997)
Great Big Sea (1998)
Plume Latraverse (1999)
Claude Dubois (2000)
Natasha St-Pier (1991 and 2003)
Yelo Molo (2003 and 2004)
Les Classels (2003)
Les Respectables (2003)
Marie-Chantal Toupin (2004)
Les Trois Accords (2005)
Les Cowboys Fringants (2006)
Hugo Lapointe (2006)
Jonas (2006)
Mentake (2006)
Marie Mai(2006)

Another major attraction is the Party du Parking. Introduced in 1987, thousands of people gather on the Friday of the Foire in the parking lot situated downtown, where the street is closed to traffic. Food, beverages and live entertainment is offered. Although sometimes imitated by other festivals in the U.S. and Canada, it is the largest one of its kind in New Brunswick and it has been compared to Mardi Gras.

The Foire relies on sponsorships in order to offer a low entrace fee for its patrons. This year a five day pass to all shows is only 20$. Compared to similar festivals, the Foire is arguably one of the best deals of its kind.

[edit] Criticism

The Foire is often criticized by the Acadian people as not promoting the culture as a vital part of French New Brunswick. Despite this the Foire has always included Acadian acts and encourages local Acadian talent.

The Edmundston area, despite having a large population of Acadian ancestry, has always been a separate culture from the rest of French New Brunswick. The area was first founded by the English in the 1860's and has since become the 2nd largest majority French speaking city outside of Quebec. Most of the francophones are from Quebec ancestry, compared to the rest of French New Brunswick which are direct descendants of the first French people to colonise North America back in 1604 in what is now Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Quebec was not founded until four years later in 1608.

Because of the high Quebec ancestry in the Edmundston area and its close proximity to the Quebec border, area residents are considered by Acadians as non-resident Quebecers.

Most true "Brayons" do not want to be compared to Acadians or Quebecers and ardently call themselves independent "Brayons" from "P'tit Sault". (The original name for Edmundston).