International festival brings St. Stephen, Calais together 'as one'
CBC
Among the International Homecoming Festival crowds, the words 'here' and 'there' take on added meaning.
"I've been here more than I've been there," Maxine Geroux, standing in Calais, Maine, said Saturday while gesturing across the river to where she was born in St. Stephen, N.B.
"And I've been over there [more] than I have been over here, even though I was born over here," said Suzanne Benedetta, her best friend.
What appears a confusing mix of nationalities is actually the norm in these towns, which come together for a week each summer for the festival.
The highlight is a parade that starts on one side and crosses to the other.
"There is a considerable amount of planning, but it is something we're very proud to have because it doesn't happen very often," said Pamela Williams, an event co-ordinator with the Municipal District of St. Stephen.
Williams said there are logistics involved. Those who cross the border, parade or not, have to be vetted and border services are involved.
With documents submitted in advance, parade participants are allowed to cross the bridge without stopping, a privilege reserved for this one day a year.
But it almost didn't happen. On July 24, the festival put a notice on its Facebook page.
"It is becoming evident that the parade may no longer be sustainable due to declining float entries willing to cross and participate on both sides," the post read.
"And this is the time for honesty … the top response we get is that participants do not WANT to cross the border, it's too much work, etc," it went on.
In the end, the community rallied.
"There are a hardcore group of individuals on both sides that won't let this die, they won't let this end. In the last minutes they pull it together and we're a go," Williams said.
Some floats did turn off right before the parade crossed from Maine into New Brunswick, and a father could be seen running up to a float full of girls in a dance troupe to pull off a few children who did not want to cross.
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