LEWISTON – French students at Lewiston Middle School celebrated the French language and culture, accepting a special banner presented by members of a local chapter of the Association Canado-Américaine.

The occasion was International Francophonie Day, observed worldwide on March 20. Making the presentation were ACA chapter President Gerry Legare and Vice President Jeanne Poulin, who visited an eighth-grade French class of teacher Mike Courchesne.

After receiving the banner, Cindy Larock, a member of the advisory board of the Franco-American Heritage Collection at Lewiston-Auburn College, gave a presentation. She is active in the revitalization of traditional French culture, particularly within the realm of music and dance.

She involved the youngsters in a brief discussion about the countries of the world where French is spoken either as a mother tongue or a secondary language, and discussed some of the distinctive regional vocabulary variations.

The presentation ended with samples of recorded dance music by French Canadian and Louisiana Cajun bands, enhanced by a bit of live percussion.

Legare and Poulin represent the Dr. Paul Fortier Chapter 52. Headquartered in Manchester, N.H., the ACA is an international fraternal society founded in 1896 to respond to the economic and cultural needs of persons of French descent in North America.