VAN BUREN, Maine — Plans to revitalize Acadian Village are on track after a fundraising goal of $60,000 set earlier this year brought in $75,800 in donations.
The 17-building complex with homes that date back to the 1700s is also gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary this summer, from June 12 to 14.
Van Buren’s Acadian Village is the second largest of its kind in the United States, behind one in Lafayette, Louisiana. It is also on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.
Robert Beaulieu, who is from Van Buren and whose parents helped found the Acadian Village 50 years ago, said that he and his brother have pledged $10,000 per year each for the next three years to match the $60,000, adding up to a total of $120,000. The total amount now raised, with their contributions this year, is $95,000.
Beaulieu now lives in California, however he is still actively involved in fundraising efforts for the village. He said he was inspired to help raise money for the village after hearing about Van Buren’s series of revitalization efforts under Town Manager Luke Dyer.
He was also inspired after learning about the town of Madawaska hosting its own telethon last year to help raise money for its park. Since kicking off this fundraiser, Madawaska has also surpassed expectations by raising close to a quarter million to help with park renovations.
Most of the donations are coming from people with an affiliation to Van Buren. Beaulieu, who now lives in California, said some donors are his own colleagues and neighbors on the West Coast. Without him even asking, a client in California donated $5,000, he said, and his neighbors, whom he and his family often help with charities, also gave $2,500. Those who aren’t directly connected to Van Buren often give because of an interest in preserving Canadian history.
He said it is encouraging to see the donations, because it has been more difficult to obtain grants to help with upkeep of the village.
“It’s not easy, especially in current times, with changes in the government where a lot of federally funded organizations don’t have the money this time around,” he said. “And that puts pressure on family foundations and corporate foundations, because they get more requests than they can possibly handle.”
Looking ahead, the donations will help with upkeep costs of the historic buildings and also fund additions to the site to make it more interactive and to encourage guests to keep coming back. The work also will include creating crushed rock pathways between buildings.
Each site will include a QR code that guests can scan with their phones or tablets that will bring them to a recording about the history of that building.
He said that under no circumstances would they put an antenna on a building or do anything that would threaten their historical integrity.
He said the recordings have already been made with the help of Colin Jandreau and his wife Gina Jandreau, both involved in the Madawaska School Department, who helped record and edit everything.
He said in Fort Fairfield, a French teacher who also works as a guide at the Acadian Village is building a curriculum that will allow teachers to bring a class to the site and go from building to building with tablets and learn about the history of each structure.
The recordings are narrated by someone in the area who is a relative or descendant of someone connected to the village.
“I’m hoping to build from there,” he said. “There’s so much history that has not been exposed yet. People have stories, and I’d like to use our website and the QR codes to learn more about the history, and the stories that we don’t know yet.”