HALLOWELL (AP) – A symbolic funeral barge will be set ablaze on the Kennebec River today in an upbeat, musical and good-humored celebration of the life of JFK impersonator Abbott Vaughn Meader.

Meader, who gained instant fame satirizing the presidency of John F. Kennedy in the multimillion-selling album “The First Family,” died Oct. 29 in Auburn at age 68.

Meader’s friends will swap stories about his life, sing songs he loved and offer pony rides for kids during the celebration at The Wharf, one of Meader’s favorite watering holes.

Sheila Meader had no idea how many of her husband’s friends will show up, but she said the celebration promises to be a joyful one.

Meader’s friends had talked about him being cremated, Viking style, on a raft with a baby grand piano on the Kennebec. Although that may have been impractical, Sheila Meader said friends are preparing a scale model piano and raft they will set alight before the ceremony begins.

“The (Environmental Protection Agency) will not be alarmed, I hope, given the small size of the model,” she said. “It’s all symbolic and all in fun. It’s to prime us to go inside and tell Abbott stories.”

A special feature of the celebration will be pony rides for children, Meader said. She said the pony rides were part of the lighthearted planning her husband and a number of his friends made for his funeral several years ago.

Meader noted that her husband went back to using his given name Abbott after Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 ended his career as a comic.

“He never wanted to be known for doing (comedy and impersonations). That was just a sideline. He wanted to be a musician and a singer,” she said.

“When Kennedy died, he had to change his whole persona,” she said. “Vaughn Meader died when Kennedy did, that’s what Lenny Bruce said. And it’s true.”