I Did My Part Today
Longtime Festival du Voyageur volunteer has no plans to slow down
Marcel French’s volunteer record is nearly as long as the Festival du Voyageur’s 50-year history.
French, 64, began volunteering with the festival in his early 20s. “I wanted to give back to the community and it happened to be going on at the time,” he said. In those early days, he was a jack-of-all-trades, moving signage, keeping the fires burning and working the parking lot.
Over the years, the festival has defined roles and responsibilities further, and French, 64, has become the go-to parking guru. He’s developed a sixth sense for new volunteers’ fit. “When they’re excited, they tell on themselves. They have enthusiasm and say ‘Let’s do this! Let’s make this happen!’ – attitude that makes French’s mentoring of new recruits even more rewarding.
“You have to have some kind of a backbone,” he said. New volunteers may find themselves flabbergasted – especially with those festival guests that may have taken the idea of joie de vivre a little too far, said Marcel. To him, it’s old news. “You have to be personable and friendly, but firm. You need to stay focused and know that this is for them, not for me, and not let anyone push your buttons.”
Being there as long as he has, what’s old is new again. Sled dogs were a highlight when he started, and they are back this year. “Way back in the time, they were there for competition. It’s one thing to stand on the shores of the Red or Assiniboine and watch them go by, it’s another thing to be in a sled experiencing it. Wow, you are flying!”
French doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.
“I volunteer at a slew of different events,” said French, who was recognized with a 2016 Premier’s Volunteer Service Award. He has been a part of Manito Ahbee since its beginnings. The festival, celebrating Indigenous arts, culture, and music, is one of the ways he connects to his First Nations’ heritage. A child of the 60s Scoop, he grew up in the Mennonite community of Altona. While he said speaking French would be useful to a Festival du Voyageur volunteer, his second language is German.
He has made a number of festival friends throughout his long service and sadly, has had to say goodbye to a few along the way. Last year, he kept a prime parking spot open for a 25-plus year volunteer. When the volunteer didn’t show up the first day of the Festival, or the second, he knew something was wrong but he didn’t let anyone else take the spot. He later learned the volunteer had fallen ill and passed away.
He hopes to be able to continue as long as he’s able. “I’m young at heart. I’m healthy. I have a volunteer addiction and a bit of a guilt complex, I can’t let them down.”
He plans to be there this year, next year and beyond. “It’s a personal sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. I can go home and have a cup of coffee and say, ‘I did my part today. I did a good job.”
