CALAIS – Fireworks, pageantry, music and great history will be part of this weekend’s 2004 celebration.

And organizers are expecting more than 10,000 people to make the 400th anniversary of the settling of St. Croix Island a true barnburner.

For the past eight years this border community along with officials in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, have been planning a massive party to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the settlement of St. Croix Island.

In 1604, French explorer Pierre Dugua Sieur de Mons and geographer Samuel de Champlain, along with more than 70 men and boys, sailed from France to the New World. They settled on St. Croix Island where they built a settlement. A harsh winter killed half the party and in the spring the settlement was relocated to Port Royal, Nova Scotia.

The most harried person leading up to the 10-day event should be Norma Stewart, executive director of the Ste. Croix 2004 Committee, but she is as cool as a Popsicle on a hot summer day.

Stewart said her committee has been preparing every day for the past several years for this event. “We’ve spent so much time getting ready now that it is here, there is even less stress than there would have been even two months ago,” she said.

The fun starts Friday night with opening ceremonies.

After the singing of the U.S., Canadian and French national anthems, there will be some top-notch performances by La Famille Arseneault, a French Acadian family of 13 that includes three generations of performers from ages 9 to 71. They offer an energetic show that includes dancing and musical performances and a variety of instruments.

Other performers include Boreal Tordu and Passamaquoddy singer and drummer Blanche Socabasin.

“Saturday is the big day,” Stewart said.

Because of space limitations in Calais, most of the activities will be held in St. Andrews and Bayside, across from St. Croix Island.

Saturday begins with a sunrise ceremony at 4:30 a.m. performed by the Passamaquoddy at Indian Point in St. Andrews. There will be a Passamaquoddy oral historian and the Wabanaki Transformers Theatre will perform “Drama for Giving.”

There will be a sidewalk art show and musical entertainment in downtown Calais. The St. Croix International Quilters Guild and Washington County Community College have teamed up for St. Croix Quilts 2004: “Down by the Riverside.”

The “big hoorah” begins at 3 p.m. at Bayside, just northeast of St. Stephen. The site opens at noon, so people can get there early. There will be music followed by a commemoration ceremony that will include leaders from several Indian tribes, along with dignitaries from the United States, Canada and France.

At 5:30 p.m. there will be musical entertainment that includes the Choeur Neil Michaud Choir, a 25-member male choir that performs a repertoire of polyphonic material, religious, contemporary, French Canadian and Acadian folklore, along with other performers.

Stewart recommended that visitors bring either a blanket or lawn chairs. She also encouraged people to pack picnic lunches so they can enjoy the day.

She also warned there would be traffic backups at the border and urged people to leave early so they won’t get tangled in traffic. The city has two crossings, the Milltown and Ferry Point bridges.

At 9 p.m., organizers promise a spectacular $40,000 fireworks display produced by Fireworks FX of Nova Scotia.

A schedule of events is available at area businesses and at the tourist information center.

Daylong parking is $5 for vehicles and $10 for recreational vehicles. All proceeds go to the St. Andrews Boys and Girls Club.