Winooski celebrates its French heritage

Winooski, VT – The Winooski Farmers Market looked a little different than usual on Sunday as the Onion City honored its French heritage and connection to their northern neighbors.

French Heritage Day included several unique vendors and attractions in addition to the usual farmers market fare, including French food, music and education activities to help Winooski residents reconnect with their Quebecois roots.

“French Heritage Day is always a big day at the market,” said Sarah Bromquist, who manages the Winooski Farmers Market. “It’s just a celebration of all of the French heritage in the area and the Quebecois culture that comes down from Quebec and just our close ties to French heritage in Winooski.”

Visitors had the opportunity to try their hand at en plein air — a french style of outdoor painting, and speaking French with some regional cultural representatives. Guests could also visit a French genealogy booth to learn more about their ancestry, and enjoy crepes, pets de soeurs and other French-Canadian cuisine.

The Heritage Winooski Mill Museum was open to guests during the event, offering some insight into the city’s French-Canadian history. Winooski was heavily settled by Quebecois immigrants, and many found work at the Champlain Mill, which now houses the museum and the Winooski Historical Society.

“We at the Heritage Winooski Mill Museum tell the story of the people who worked the mills and many of them were French-Canadian,” said Miriam Block, the museum’s executive director. “We have exhibits about the mill and some of them are not just in English but also in French. We have an activity where you can match both French and English textile terms together to challenge yourself to see if you know that vocabulary.”

The museum and historical society see the annual heritage festival as a way for Winooski to revisit its history of French-Canadian culture, and educate the city’s current residents about those who lived there before them.

“There is so much French-Canadian and Franco-American history throughout New England,” said historical society president Joseph Perron. “A lot of it has vanished, so it’s really nice to have a living tradition that we’re carrying on here, even if it’s for just one day, to remember what was, the people who came before us, and those who are still here and give them an opportunity to kind of have some pride in their ancestry.”

The main event of the day was the annual tourtiere contest, where culinary competitors battled for the coveted first place prizes: a blue ribbon, an engraved pie server and $100 cash. This year a new baking category for french bread joined the competition. Keeping with French Heritage Day tradition, visitors swooped in to finish off the leftover pie and bread after the judges doled out prizes.

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