Lowell’s 2026 Franco-American Festival Week begins Sunday, June 21!

• Sunday, June 21: 12:00 pm Mass in French honoring St. Jean Baptiste. (French/English worship aid provided.) At Immaculate Conception Church, 144 E. Merrimack St., Lowell, MA. Refreshments and naming of the Greater-Lowell Franco-American of the Year will follow in downstairs church hall. (Stair-free access on Fayette St. for upper-church handicap drop-off. Downstairs lift accessible from the church parking lot, using door closest to E. Merrimack St.)
• Sunday, June 21: 4:00 pm “Celebrating Our French Heritage” with Soloist Marie-Line Morin at Joseph’s Shrine, 37 Lee St., Lowell, MA. A weaving of narrative and song in honor of the OMI fathers who staff the Shrine. On-street parking free on Sundays; free off-street lot nearby. For more information, contact: sjwssec@stjosephshrine.org
• Monday, June 22: 5:30-9:30 pm “Across the Years: Three Franco Poets from Lowell” at Coburn Hall, UMass Lowell South Beginning with Dr. Joseph H. Roy, Lowell has nurtured Franco poets including Loom Press publisher Paul Marion and Franco Committee member Suzanne Beebe. Join them for a reading and discussion of Dr. Roy’s and their own poems from a Lowell Franco perspective. Refreshments will be served.
• Wednesday, June 24: 10:00 am Lowell City Hall Flag Raising followed by coffee and (Outdoors if weather is favorable; in City Hall if rainy.)
• Wednesday, June 24: 6:30 pm Vesper Service honoring St. Jean Baptiste at the Lourdes Grotto, 357 Pawtucket St., Lowell, behind the Franco (Bring your own chair!) Wine and Cheese Social to follow in the Community Room of the Franco Residences.
• Thursday, June 25: 6:30-8:30 pm Family Bingo in French and English, at Michael’s Church Hall, 12 Sixth St, Lowell, MA. Bingo cards $2 each or three for $5. Cash prizes for each game! Free snacks and water!
• Saturday, June 27, 6:00-9:30 pm French Quadrilles and Contra Dances at the Pleasant Golf Club, 141 Staples St., Lowell, MA. Free admission! Acadian and Québecois fiddling from rising star Gus LaCasse of Maine. Dances called in French and English by Lowell’s Jeannine Ameduri. Franco foods, snacks, and water free of charge. (Cash bar!)
• Sunday, June 28: 1:30-4:00 pm Magic and Other Fun at St. Rita’s Church Hall, 158 Mammoth Rd, Lowell, MA. Magic show at 2:15 from Henri Marchand. Free face-painting, games, and snacks before and after!