About us

The AFZP’s mandate is to represent all of the local groups working in the various sectors of the local Fransaskois community. It also advocates for the needs and rights of its members at various levels of government. The AFZP’s mission is to ensure the vitality of the Fransaskois culture and to promote its development in the Zenon Park region. The AFZP offers different types of services to the community as well as annual and ad hoc activities. All services and activities aim to promote and retain the French language and culture.

Introduction

The Association Fransaskoise de Zenon Park (AFZP) is a non-profit organization. It exists for the well-being of its members while ensuring the survival of the French language and culture. It also has a vested interest in various economic dossiers that strive to ensure the survival of the community. The organization is managed by an executive committee supported by an exceptionally motivated and generous group of volunteers.

Is Fransaskois culture close to your heart? The Association Fransaskoise de Zenon Park offers a wide range of services that you may appreciate. We are continuously looking for ways to offer francization opportunities to people in our community and our region through activities such as French lessons, the book fair, popular courses (arts and crafts workshops, mother-child vocabulary development through games), etc. Our offices, which are located directly on Zenon Park’s main street, offer local residents the services of Le Lien (library materials: books, videos, and magazines), as well as fax, lamination, photocopying and translation services. We also publish a bilingual community newsletter – Bonjour Zenon Park – which serves to inform our members about the cultural and community life of the residents of the village and the surrounding area.

Are you looking for products to give as gifts? Swing by our office, we would be happy to assist you. You will find a selection of products such as CDs, books (especially dictionaries), and a variety of greeting cards (French and English) for every occasion. We also sell maple syrup (very popular!) as well as local products such as honey, crafts, and organic products.

Board & staff members

Nicole Poulin – President

Linda Perrault – Vice-President

Gisèle Yarbrough – Secretary

Marlène Lia – Treasurer

Marisa Ferré – Advisor

Lina Brisco – Advisor

Kassandra Hipkins – Advisor

Marion Perrault – Advisor

Tam Lépine – Advisor

Myriam Perrault – General Manager

Margo LeBlanc – Social Media Agent

Local Businesses

Over the years, Zenon Park farmers and businessmen have come to exemplify the innovative spirit of their French Canadian ancestors. Here are a few examples of local industries that have helped make the town what it is today.

Today, industries in the area include honey production and packaging, leafcutter bees and production of alfalfa seed, production of grains and organic beef, packaging and distribution of organic products, raising of wild boars, and food production for wild boars.

The following are but a few of our local businesses. For more information, visit Zenon Park’s business directory.

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Agriculture

Saskatchewan is one of the world’s largest cereal producers. Therefore it comes as no surprise that a majority of Zenon Park’s residents are farmers. Agriculture is at the heart of the area’s economy. Almost everyone in this community relies on agriculture and produce to earn a living. When the early pioneers arrived in the area, they were met with forests and wet marshes. Today, most of the land has been cleared to make way for thousands of acres of rich soil and an annual production of thousands of tons of wheat, barley, alfalfa, flax, mustard, linseed, and canola.

Agriculture has evolved into a high-cost high-yearn industry. Today’s farmers invest millions of dollars in equipment and explore new technological advances such as drones and computer software to try to increase cereal production. A lot of farmers are forced to spend their summers spraying fields to control weeds. Most of the region’s young farmers have taken over the family farms, farms that have been in the family for 3-4 generations. One thing is for sure, this new generation of farmers has its work cut out for it!

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A&L Motors

A&L Motors is a family-run garage located in the heart of Zenon Park. This local business has been in the Lalonde family for three generations. It offers a variety of services including fully licensed mechanics, gas pumps, and a car-wash. Fill up with gas at A&L Motors and say hi to its friendly owner, Maurice Lalonde.

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Ferré Farm Equipment

Ferré Farm Equipment has been dealing in the sale of agricultural equipment since 1946. They offer a variety of services including farm equipment, replacement parts, and GPS systems. This is another third-generation family-run business operated by father and son team, Gilbert and Nicolas Ferré.

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M&M Seeds

M&M Seeds was created in 1985 by Vincent and Daniel Marchildon. The two cousins specialize in the production of alfalfa seed. The Zenon Park region has long been known as the Alfalfa capital of Saskatchewan, specializing in the dehydration of alfalfa. M&M Seeds use leafcutter bees to pollinate the alfalfa flowers in order for plants to produce seed. When driving around the region, you’re bound to see fields lined with perfect rows of black or orange bee shelters. The company not only sells the alfalfa seed, but it also sells barrels full of bees to markets in Canada and the United States.

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THH Country Store

Marlon Jugl and Sabine Weibrich arrived in Canada in May 2009, driven by their dream of cultivating their own land to grow and raise food. They embraced a lifestyle on a small piece of land without power or running water, which transformed their way of living. To share their homemade goods, they launched ‘Sabine’s Country Store’ and began selling at various farmers’ markets across Saskatchewan, including Hudson Bay, Regina, and Saskatoon. In 2011, Sabine’s son Sebastien joined them, initially for a short stay, but he became a vital part of their team. With the help of friends and community support, they built a home on 160 acres of untouched land where they grow herbs, flowers, and vegetables. The brand Triple H Homestead emerged to better reflect their identity, offering all-natural herbal and food products. In 2019, they opened the THH Country Store in Zenon Park, inviting customers to explore and purchase their offerings.

Local Artists

Part of the AZFP’s mission is to support the community and cultural life of Francophones in and around Zenon Park. Social events and cultural gatherings give people opportunities to get together and have fun in French. We regularly highlight local talents by exhibiting the works of our artists as well as other French-speaking artists in our art gallery. We also use this space to host intimate concerts by French-speaking artists from near and far. This space is also available for rental evenings or week-ends (meetings, birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, etc.) for groups of up to 30 people.

Legend has it that the local piano tuner had more customers in Zenon Park than throughout the rest of the region. Zenon Park is proud of its local French artists. Over the years, our town has seen local talent develop and pursue professional careers in music, writing, sculpting, the visual arts, and dance. Here are but a few of the gifted artists who have called Zenon Park home.

Joseph Marc-Octave Lebel

Joseph Marc-Antoine Lebel was born on March 4, 1881 in Brunswick Maine, near Portland (USA). After classical studies in L’Islet, Quebec, he completed his studies in philosophy at the Grand Séminaire de Québec before studying law at McGill University (Montreal) and political science at Columbia University (New York). He then worked as private secretary to the then Minister of Public Works of Quebec and future Prime Minister, L.-A. Taschereau.

He quickly discovered that a career as a civil servant did not suit him. He therefore left for Saskatchewan in 1908, married a local woman, Marie-Laure Hudon, and in 1911 settled on a farm northeast of Zenon Park where he pursued his literary ambition using the pseudonym “Jean Féron“. Joseph Marc-Octave Lebel thus became one of Western Canada’s most important pioneer writers, writing more than 30 novels, including his most famous novel, ‘La Métisse’, which was republished in 1983 and again in 2004 by the Manitoba publisher, Les Éditions des Plaines.

Watch the video

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Léon Marchildon

Léon Marchildon (1922-2015) was widely known as a talented and innovative wood sculptor. Inspired by nature, he initially started sculpting driftwood gathered on the shores of nearby Tobin Lake, creating his pieces based on the wood’s natural shapes. In the early 70s, Léon took sculpting workshops in Saskatoon with Quebec wood sculptor Benoî Deschènes (Saint-Jean-Port-Joli) and in later years with Franco-Manitoban wood sculptor Miguel Joyal. Throughout his lifetime, Léon sculpted an impressive series of wooden crucifixes which were to remain his trademark. Many of these crucifixes can be found in private homes, cultural centers, and churches across the province, including Zenon Park’s Our Lady of the Nativity church. Léon also taught wood sculpting at the University of Regina for four consecutive years as part of the university’s French Education program.

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Henri Poulin

Born near Eastend Saskatchewan in 1921, Henri Poulin moved to Zenon Park with his family in 1927 and never left. Over the years, Henri became a well-known figure in the region as well as throughout Saskatchewan’s French community. Music, old songs and stories were part of Henri Poulin’s youth and he spent most of his life sharing these with friends, family, and audiences near and far. As can be seen in the streets of Zenon Park, Henri was also an accomplished stonemason. Henri passed away in 2004, but his memory, his music and his stone sculptures live on. His song ‘Chez Woolco’, a favorite among the Fransaskois community, was recorded by the folk music group ‘La Racquette à Claquette’.

(Source: Société historique de la Saskatchewan)

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Lina Brisco

A native of nearby Arborfield, Lina Brisco is the niece of Zenon Park visual artist Raymond Potié. Lina studied Fine Arts at the University of Victoria and at a Fine Arts School in Vancouver. She now makes Zenon Park her home where she pursues a career in photography and a passion for painting.

Learn more: https://www.facebook.com/photosbylina.brisco

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Laurier Chabot

Laurier Chabot started singing with local rock bands such as Cold Heat while still attending Zenon Park High School. A gifted singer, Laurier went on to pursue an extensive singing career in Winnipeg and Vancouver’s music scenes. In his twenties, Laurier was the lead singer for the rock band Exit, touring Ontario and Western Canada. In 1986, at the height of new wave music, Laurier was the frontman and lead vocalist for the band 4-17. In ______, Laurier decided to leave the music scene. He moved back to the Zenon Park area where he created his own construction company. He later studied Computer Science and became an IT Technician. But his singing and his love of music continued to be a strong component in his life. In 1999, Laurier performed “Give it away” in Saskatoon during the televised 23rd Kinsmen Telemiracle celebration. Laurier lives in Cranbrook BC with his wife and 4 children.

Learn more: www.laurierchabot.com

Listen to Laurier’s music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/chabot/440451678

Watch interview and performance (1981): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O43o3g9a1nA

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Zoé Fortier

Zoé Fortier is an interdisciplinary Fransaskois illustrator, artist, and arts administrator from Zenon Park, Saskatchewan. She holds a diploma in New Media Arts from the University of St. Boniface (MB), and a Double Honours degree in Anthropology and Studio Arts from the University of Saskatchewan.

Zoé is fully committed to initiatives that develop the Francophone artistic professional community in Canada. She is the co-founder of the Francophone collective Sans-Atelier in Saskatoon (SK) and the co-founder of the Réseau N.O. Network, consisting of Francophone artist-run centers and collectives in North-Western Canada. Zoé has served as a member of the Executive Committee of AGAVF (National Association of Francophone Visual Arts Groups) since 2016. Zoé’s nom de plume as an illustrator is Zoé Zénon, short for Zoé de Zénon.

Learn more:

https://zoezenon.myportfolio.com/

https://www.facebook.com/zoezenon.illustration

https://www.instagram.com/zoezenon.illustration/

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Cyril Hudon

Cyril was born and raised in Zenon Park, and other than a few years in his youth where he worked in various different cities, he has always made Zenon Park his home.

As a youth, farming was his passion, and it became his main career. As the winter months often had some slow times, his artistic side slowly took flight. Cyril started with woodworking, making various small tables and items for the family home, and would often be caught ‘doodling’ on various pieces of paper. Then, about 10 years ago, a wet summer left him with a lot of time on his hands and a fully equipped shop. It was there that he started experimenting. He eventually developed a process using layers of paint on sheets of aluminum and then grinding through the layers with a shop grinder to develop freehand designs. He has since filled various requests, from sketches of wheat to hockey and football players to oil rigs, and he even designed a piece for a local athlete who competed in the Sochi Olympics in bobsledding. He also recently made butterfly sears out of 10 gauge steel for each of his children. Cyril continues to develop his passion for metalwork.

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Alain Leblanc

Born and raised in Zenon Park, Alain Leblanc continues to live and farm just south of town. But he is also known in Canada’s music industry as manager and bass player for country music artist Codie Prevost. Together they have performed across Canada and have had the privilege of playing on the same stages as well-known stars such as the Oak Ridge Boys and Florida Georgia. Alain is a 6-time recipient of the Saskatchewan Country Music Awards “Manager of the Year” award and was also awarded the “Bass Player of the Year” award. In his earlier years, Alain was a member of the Fransaskois folk-rock band Cri de Folie as well as a key player in the musical careers and studio production of fransaskois artists such as Francis Marchildon, Polly-Esther and Camille Dion (Pelletier).

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Antoine Marchildon

3D visual artist Antoine Marchildon’s dream was always to create his own electronic game design. After completing high-school, he moved to Vancouver to study 3D Modeling for Films, Games and Animation at The Art Institute of Vancouver. After completing his degree, he worked as an environment artist at Electronic Arts Canada and collaborated on SISA 18 : Plant versus Zombies Garden Warfare and its sequel as well as the 3^e edition of Battle for Neighborville. In early 2020, Antoine turned to Kickstarter to raise the money needed to launch his own business, Forbidden Prints, where he presently designs 3D models for tabletop game enthusiasts.

Learn more:

https://www.artstation.com/antoinatron

https://www.behance.net/marchildon35c3

https://www.instagram.com/forbiddenprints/

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Francis Marchildon

Born and raised in Zenon Park, Francis Marchildon has been part of Saskatchewan’s music scene for several years. Francis first took to the stage while a student at Gravelbourg’s College Mathieu. He then co-founded the folk-rock band Cri de Folie with his brother Michel Marchildon, Bellegarde native Gary Kenler, and ZP musicians Alain Leblanc and Michel Moyen before pursuing a solo career, and co-producing the highly acclaimed bilingual album “Balance” (1996). For the last twenty years, Francis has been singing and playing mandolin and accordion with the Fransaskois folk-roots band Raquette à claquettes. In 2005, Racquette à claquettes released a first album of songs featuring Chez Woolco by Zenon Park folksinger Henri Poulin. In 2018, the band produced and released Quand la pluie viendra.

Learn more:

https://www.facebook.com/laraquetteaclaquettes/

https://laraquetteclaquettes.bandcamp.com/releases

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Michel Marchildon

Zenon Park and Saskatchewan’s prairies have always been an important part of multimedia artist Michel Marchildon‘s artistic projects. In his early twenties, Michel formed folk-rock band Cri de Folie with his brother Francis Marchildon, Bellegarde native Gary Kenler, and ZP musicians Alain Leblanc and Michel Moyen. Michel then completed a master’s degree in French literature at the Université Laval in Quebec City; the topic of his thesis? Zenon Park writer Jean Féron’s novel “La Métisse”.

In 1996, Michel returned to Zenon Park as an artist in residence, working with local talents while recording a collection of his songs. He went on to craft and perform hundreds of songs, co-producing two full-length albums, Changer de peau (1997), and Fragments d’identité (2007) as well as 3 video clips (Ils sont partis, Oh Marie, Je t’attendrai). In 2010, Michel called on local artists to create Silo à Souvenirs – Silo of Memories, a multidisciplinary performance celebrating Zenon Park’s centennial anniversary. Michel is also an accomplished writer who has published poetry (Fransaskroix), short stories as well as a historical biography of his uncle, Father Arthur Marchildon. Michel presently lives in Montreal where he is working on a first novel.

Learn more:

https://michelmarchildon.bandcamp.com/

https://soundcloud.com/marchildon

https://www.youtube.com/user/Marchildon

https://www.facebook.com/MarchildonMusique/

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Raymond Potié

As a child growing up in Zenon Park, Raymond Potié definitely liked to draw more than most kids his age. When he was 13 years old, Raymond’s parents enrolled him in oil painting night classes taught by a schoolteacher in neighboring Arborfield and he was given a room on the top floor of the family home for his painting studio.

In 1966, Raymond won first prize at the annual Saskatchewan painting competition (sponsored by the Saskatchewan Farmers Union), for an oil painting of a shack in the region. He then taught himself acrylic painting and began his surrealist and psychedelic period. (See untitled 1970 acrylic on canvas and 1973 drawing). In 1974 Raymond studied at the Vancouver School of Art / Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver. At that time he was influenced by modern American artists such as Andy Warhol who were experimenting with combining photographic elements with painting and drawing.

In 1975, Raymond was awarded 1st prize for printmaking from the Federation of Canadian Artists for an intaglio entitled “Zacharias” printed on mylar embossed on rag paper, from a photo of his 3-year-old son holding a teddy bear and incorporating his son’s hand-drawn version of the photo. (See photo).The highlight of this period was certainly his 1975 two-man exhibition with internationally acclaimed Andy Warhol which included “blues”, an intaglio incorporating photo and drawing elements which he considers to be one of his best works from this period.

Shortly after graduating from Emily Carr, Raymond entered a 15-year hiatus during which time he traveled and lived in South America before returning to Canada to study sciences at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. This was followed by his 1990’s “Plein air” period where Raymond, not having access to a studio, was inspired by artists such as Van Gogh, Monet, Tom Thomson, and Emily Carr to experiment with acrylic landscapes painted outdoors directly from nature. (Attached “Antelope Lake”, 1990).

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Véronique Poulin

A talented singer-songwriter and musician, Vaero (Véronique Poulin) is the granddaughter of local folk singing legend Henri Poulin. Over the years, her unique style has evolved from catchy melodic hooks & alt-folk grooves to rhythmic & beautifully atmospheric compositions. In 2019, Vaero was awarded a Trille Or in the ‘best EP’ category for her album ‘Le Noeud’ and was nominated at the Western Canadian Music Awards in the ‘Francophone Artist’ category. Vaero has performed extensively across Europe and Canada as a member of the indie rock band Young Benjamins. As a solo artist, she has participated in prestigious venues and festivals across Canada. Vaero currently resides in Montreal where she pursues her career as a performing artist.

Learn more:

www.vaero.ca

www.facebook.com/vaeromusiq

https://vaero.bandcamp.com/

www.instagram.com/vaeromusiq

www.youtube.com/poulinvero/videos

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Renée Sigouin

Renee Sigouin is a freelance contemporary dancer born and raised in Zenon Park Saskatchewan. From an early age, Renée had the opportunity to work with many dance artists which fuelled her passion and excitement for dance. After studying ballet locally (Tisdale Dance Centre, Nipawin School of Dance), she was fortunate to be chosen to perform with the Saskatoon Dare to Dance company. Contemporary dance led her to Vancouver for pre-professional training, where she continues to explore the art form today. In 2010, Renée participated in Silo à souvenirs – Silo of Memories celebrating Zenon Park’s centennial anniversary.

Photos: Chris Randle, Lina Brisco, Markus Eriksson

Instagram: @rensig