NEW SWEDEN (AP) – Arsenic poisonings at a local church that left one man dead and sent 15 other people to hospitals will be remembered next weekend as northern Maine’s Swedish colony holds its 132nd annual Midsommar Celebration.

There will be a moment of silence next Sunday to honor the memory of Walter Reid Morrill, a 78-year-old member of the Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church who died after drinking coffee at a church gathering.

The Lutheran Curch will be one of the locations where festival-goers will gather to celebrate the area’s Swedish heritage. The three-day Midsommar festival has been a tradition since Swedish farmers emigrated to Aroostook County in 1870.

“This is a Swedish tradition and they’ve been keeping this tradition alive ever since the Swedes came here,” said Rosemary Hede, who lives in the neighboring town of Stockholm and has been going each year since 1971.

“It’s the traditional Midsommar Festival. They do the same thing in Old Sweden.”

The Midsommar Committee, which is part of the New Sweden Historical Society, has been preparing for the festival by lining up entertainment and other events.

It will begin with a traditional “flower gathering” Friday morning at the northern Maine town’s museum. A “Fiskare Frukost,” or fishermen’s breakfast, is scheduled for Saturday morning.

The historical society will also sponsor tours of a traditional Swedish Colony home, a wooden-horse painting exercise for children, wagon rides, two suppers and a bonfire with dancing and music.

“The show must go on,” said Megan Olson, who serves on the festival committee. “But we will have a moment of silence Sunday to recognize the poisoning.”

The festival is held each summer on the weekend that falls closest to the summer solstice.