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Voices of the Kennebec

Organized by the City of Waterville, Voices of the Kennebec celebrates Greater Waterville's diverse ethnic heritage. Various nonprofit organizations mount displays and sell ethnic foods, while Maine musical ensembles perform traditional music from different cultures. The festival has been held annually on the first Saturday in June and usually on the city's waterfront at Head of Falls.

Since the festival's inception in 2000, the Kotlas Connection has maintained a food and crafts table there. While our menu has varied slightly over the years, it typically includes borscht, sausage, black bread, and a dessert. We also sell Russian Christmas ornaments and other Russian handicrafts; including lacquered, handpainted wooden spoons, boxes, and cutting boards; nesting dolls; and woven birch bark baskets, which members of the Kotlas Connection have acquired during trips to Russia. All proceeds support future exchanges with Kotlas.

Other perennial food vendors at the festival include the Franco-American Heritage Society of Kennebec Valley, Beth Israel Congregation (Jewish), St. Joseph Maronite Catholic Church (Lebanese). Various non-ethnic organizations also participate, including the Maine International Film Festival, REM, Kennebec Messalonskee Trails, Inside Out Playground, and the Waterville Public Library.

Update: The festival was held annually from 2000 to 2006. It has not been held since.

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