French Institute Alliance Française Announces Details For Bastille Day 2023!

The French Institute Alliance Franҫaise, FIAF announces details of its annual Bastille Day, New York City's largest celebration of France's national holiday and a welcoming neighborhood event for more than 20 years.

This year, the celebration returns to its recently expanded Madison Avenue location, offering free, live entertainment, fun family activities, rosé and bubbly tasting parties, prize drawings, a special film screening, and more than 50 booths showcasing the best of French food and culture.

The street fair will take place on Sunday, July 16 from 12pm-5pm on Madison Avenue from 59th to 63rd Street. Further information can be found below, and here.

This year's highlights include:

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

The Bastille Day Main Stage (at 59th St. & Madison Ave) will host live music and entertainment for the day, free and open to all! Cast members from Broadway's Moulin Rouge! The Musical will perform excerpts from the new theatrical adaptation of Baz Luhrmann's iconic musical mash-up. Additional entertainment will include Paris-based singer-songwriter Naomi Greene blends vocals with harp arrangements and elements of indie rock. French-Moroccan singer/composer/producer Malika Zarra performs songs in Berber, Moroccan Arabic, French, and English with mezzo-soprano vocals, and BoByGroove, half of the Brooklyn-based French duo Cosmic Gardens, spins electro beats.

ROSE & BUBBLY PARTIES

There will be two sessions of rosé and bubbly tastings. Enjoy an outstanding selection of summer wines courtesy of Vineyard Brands—coupled with madeleines and mini quiche from Miss Madeleine, macarons from Thierry Atlan, and cheese from Cheese2U.com. Topping off the festivities will be a live performance from Saint Martin's renowned steel drum band, Jolly Boys!

The two sessions will be at 1pm & 3:30pm in the FIAF Skyroom.

Tickets: $75/members, $85/general public.

FILM SCREENING

Join FIAF for a special screening of Louis Garrel's The Innocent. Part crime thriller, part family farce, The Innocent shows with panache and pathos the dangerous lengths two men go, and the outlandish lies they tell, for the women they love. Garrel stars as Abel, a museum educator and widower whose mother, Sylvie (Anouk Grinberg), marries Michel (Roschdy Zem), one of her drama pupils in the local penitentiary. Once on parole, Michel attempts to start a legitimate life for Sylvie's sake but soon reverts to his old ways, with the suspicious Abel continually -- and ineptly -- spying on his step-father until roped into one of the ex-con's schemes. Complicating matters is Clémence (Noémie Merlant), the brazen coworker who convinces Abel to break out of his emotional and romantic shell by taking part in Michel's planned heist.

The screening will be at 5:30pm in Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street.

Tickets: $14/members and students, $17/general public

PRIZE DRAWINGS

With more than 20 lots of unique items and experiences across fashion, lifestyle, and food, this year's raffle features a grand prize dream travel package for two to Saint Martin, courtesy La Samanna, a Belmond Hotel, and the Saint Martin Tourism Office. Winners will enjoy a 5-days/4-nights stay at the Belmond La Samanna hotel, including airfare from New York City and hotel breakfasts. Additional raffle offerings include two Premier Prizes including two tickets for Broadway's Moulin Rouge! The Musical, and a FIAF prize pack including a membership and French classes!

FRENCH-THEMED MARKET

A range of 50+ food and lifestyle purveyors, including a special Saint Martin booth and free coffee activations from L'OR Coffee, will provide something for everyone on Madison Ave. Participating vendors include Pistache NYC, Macaron Parlour, Benoit NYC, Bourke Street Bakery, Crepe Escape, Barachou, Ladurée, Miss Madeline, Maman, Mille-feuille Bakery, Petit Pot, Oyster Party, amongst many others!

Premium shopping returns to The French Garden, showcasing more than a dozen luxury shops including exclusive food, beauty, and fashion from Babette, Thermomix, Pain d'Avignon, Thierry Atlan, Cheese2U.com and Le Petit Parisien; and in collaboration with French Wink, Payot, Silpat, Paul Bertin, Angelina Paris, OCabanon, and more.

FAMILY ACTIVITIES

Coaches from sports and fitness provider Asphalt Green will lead kids of all ages, and their families, in classic playground games and fitness challenges. Instructors from FIAF's Language Center will also host a special Bastille Day-themed coloring corner for children.

FIAF INFORMATION BOOTHS

FIAF is New York's center for French language and francophone cultures. Visit one of our info booths to learn more about FIAF membership benefits, French classes for kids and adults, our onsite and digital Library, upcoming film screenings, performances, and more. Don't forget to take advantage of the 10% discount on French classes and memberships offered in honor of Bastille Day!

FIAF is the home of francophone cultures and French languages: a beacon from New York to the world. FIAF's mission is to provide our audience and students with engaging French language classes and audacious multi-disciplinary programming that celebrates the diversity of francophone cultures and creativity around the world. We are a welcoming and inclusive community for all ages and all backgrounds, where people can meet, learn, and explore the richness of our heritages and share discoveries. We strive to amplify voices and build bridges from the entire francophone world to New York and beyond.

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