word Kermess (generally in the form Kirmess) is applied in the United States to any entertainment,

especially one organized in the interest of charity. The Dutch-American Village of Little Chute,

Wisconsin, has celebrated Kermis annually since 1981. The Wallonian settlements in Door County,
Wisconsin, also celebrate a "Kermis" with traditional Belgian dishes and events. Another American
polity that celebrates this holiday is La Kermesse of Biddeford, Maine. The International School of
Indiana, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, holds an annual Kermesse celebration with refreshments,
carnival games and face-painting to celebrate the ending of the school year for their pre-elementary
and elementary pupils. In the City of Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada), a city with a limited Dutch
heritage, kermesses have been held since 1907 [1] as fundraisers for the local children's hospital.
The École Française de Vancouver (ÉFIV) in North Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), holds an
annual kermesse with games, food, a pétanque tournament and community participation.[3]

St George's Kermess by David Teniers the Younger (c.1664 - 1667)

The term has also had an influence on Ibero-American culture. Specifically

in Paraguay, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, "kermeses" are held by churches and
schools to raise funds. Many activities take place including "tombolas" where people buy tickets for
drawings that always have awards from very minor items to bigger awards. In Brazil "quermesses"
are usually held by churches during the early weeks of winter and in celebration of the widely
popular Festa Junina festivities.

The word also entered the Belarusian language as "кiрмаш" (kirmash) in the meaning of "fair".

In Lithuanian language "kermošius" (kermoshius) means a fair after the mass in the church.