The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA—The Frenchtown Historical Foundation will host its 8th annual celebration of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day on Sat., June 22 at the Frenchtown Historic Site, located at 8364 W. Old Highway 12, two miles west of the Whitman Mission. The event is free and open to the public

The feast day of Saint John the Baptist is the national holiday of Quebec and has been a midsummer festival in French-speaking countries for centuries. Join at the Frenchtown site to celebrate the heritage of French and French-Canadian immigrants to the Walla Walla Valley.

This year, the Frenchtown cemetery is the star of the show. Thanks to the support of Foundation members and a grant from the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, the Foundation has installed a viewing area and new signage with the names, dates, and family information of the burials. A mix of settler and regional native flowers beautifies the site, and a new bench offers visitors a place to reflect.

The other star of the show is a presentation on the Treaty of 1855 by Frenchtown descendant Sam Pambrun. The tour bus leaves the Frenchtown site at 10 am. The tour is free, but please reserve a seat at https://tinyurl.com/SJB2019 or by calling 509-529-8210.

The bus returns to the Frenchtown site by noon for a free potato bar lunch, French-Canadian fiddle music, tours of the St. Rose of Lima cemetery (1876) and the Prince’s cabin (1834), historical displays, children’s activities, and Living History players. Advance purchase tickets for the fall Rendezvous celebration on Oct. 12 will be for sale, as well as raffle tickets for a beautiful Pendleton blanket!

Schedule:

10:00- Bus Tour and Presentation on the Treaty of 1855.

Reserve your free ticket at https://tinyurl.com/SJB2019

12:00- Free potato bar lunch at the Frenchtown Site.

1:00-3:30- Tours, demonstrations, and events at the Frenchtown site.

All events will be held at the Frenchtown site on Old Highway 12. Turn left at the Frenchtown exit 8 miles east of Walla Walla on Highway 12. Turn right onto Old Highway 12. The Frenchtown site will be one mile further on the right. Amenities include a large picnic shelter, a vault toilet, the Prince’s cabin restoration project, the Frenchtown cemetery site and interpretive center, walking trails, and a wonderful view from the hill.