French TV program expands in the Valley

FORT KENT — French language television has a greater presence in the St. John Valley due to the efforts of the University of Maine at Fort Kent French Heritage Council, the UMFK Acadian Archives and the Association Canado-Americaine.

“Bonjour!” a French-language television magazine program based in Manchester, N.H., whose host is folk singer Josee Vachon, is broadcast by three St. John Valley community stations — CETV 5 in Van Buren, WOWL in Madawaska and WFKT in Fort Kent.

The French program also is aired at 6 p.m. Wednesdays on Maine Public Television. Deciding the air time was not adequate, UMFK’s French Heritage Council attempted to get a better time slot for the program.

Failing that, the council decided it was ” a shame to stop there, (because of the) resurgence of interest in the French language in the St. John Valley,” said Lisa Ornstein, chairwoman of the French Heritage Council.

She contacted the Association Canado-Americaine, producers of the show. They agreed to distribute a weekly tape of the program for distribution to community television stations.

Bertrand Michaud, a member of the ACA in the St. John Valley, received funds from the ACA to make copies of the program. UMFK’s French Heritage Council approved matching money to make the copies available. The UMFK Acadian Archives will dub the tapes for local distribution.

“Bonjour!” airs interviews with francophones, has guest appearances, shows seasonal events, has a calendar of events and tapes broadcasts from other French-speaking areas of the world. The program is entirely in French.

Besides its weekly airing on MPBN, St. John Valley residents will be able to watch the program at 9 p.m. Mondays on WFKT, 7 p.m. Mondays on CETV and 12 times over the 24 hours of each Tuesday on WOWL.