LEWISTON — Three hours before his next performance, Nel Meservier sat near the stage, too seasoned for jitters or pre-show routines.
Play the chicken dance and “Agadou,” a Hawaiian song about a fruit vendor — “People go crazy for that” — for so many decades, and you know your material cold.
He was, though, steeling himself to try the blood sausage, “boudin” in French, before showtime.
“It’s an acquired taste; I haven’t had it since childhood,” said Meservier of Lewiston, who started playing festivals 40 years ago with the C’est Si Bon Band. “This weekend, I’m committed.”
The 5th annual Festival FrancoFun continued Saturday at the Franco-American Heritage Center with repeat performances by Melanie Saucier and the three-member Nel, Aurel and Mickey, with Chantal et Marcel, a family of entertainers from Quebec, slated to close the night. The group Present Company opened the day.
On Friday evening, the festival sold out with 300 people, program director and event manager Richard Martin said. The big draw that night: Jean Guy Piche, also from Canada.
Piche is just a little bit Las Vegas, Martin said. “He gives that performance. He connects with an individual and it’s as though you’re the only one in the hall.”
Martin said feedback had been positive on the decision to move the festival from the upstairs performance hall back to the downstairs heritage hall. That kept food, music, dance floor and bar all on the same level.
In the middle of the afternoon on Saturday, a few dozen people sat quietly listening to Saucier, a 16-year-old from Fort Kent, who talked to the crowd in French between songs.
“I’ve seen her for three or four years now,” said Paulette Martel, a volunteer coordinator. “You see a maturity in her voice from one year to the next. I’d love to see her try out for ‘American Idol.’”
Volunteer Jeanne Lessard said she’d turned out to support local talent.
“We have a wonderful venue here. If word gets out, more people will come,” she said.
The festival closes Sunday with an early-morning crepe breakfast.
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