LEWISTON — Folk singer Lucie Therrien of Portsmouth, N.H., will sing traditional French-Canadian folk songs at the next La Rencontre, the monthly French language luncheon held at the Franco-American Heritage Center, on Friday, Aug. 2.

For lunch, patrons will enjoy baked ham and mashed potatoes, a roll, green beans, and cake for dessert. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m., with the entertainment to follow an hour later. Admission is $7.

This event will mark the last time that La Rencontre will be held on the first Friday of the month, the regular date on which it has fallen for over a decade, with a few exceptions. Beginning in September, the event will fall on the second Thursday of each month.

Franco Center director Louis Morin says he agreed to move the new date after a group of Auburn seniors approached him at July’s luncheon to say they would not be able to attend due to a regular seniors’ gathering each month on the first Wednesday, during the same midday hours.

“The main thing is to move it away from Fridays, when we’ve got performances almost every week starting in the fall,” Morin says. “The first Thursday of each month wasn’t workable because of a similar weekly seniors luncheon in Sabattus.”

“Now that enough people have told me the first Wednesday is also not convenient, we’ve moved it out of the first week altogether,” he says. “Thursday is preferable to Wednesday for us, so we’ve moved once and for all to the second Thursday. And that’s where it will stay.”

Everyone is invited to attend La Rencontre, although reservations are required no later than 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 30. To attend, call Kirsten Nunery at the Franco Center at 783-1585 during regular box office hours, noon to 4 p.m., or send an email to [email protected]. Registrations will not be accepted after July 30th, so patrons are advised to register early.

Advance registration helps the Franco Center prepare an accurate number of meals and protects against occasional overcrowding when the menu or the entertainment, or both, are particularly popular with the event’s regular patrons.