Oooh La La Peachy Upcoming Daylight: The Comité du 14 juillet presents Bastille Day on 60th Street A Three Block Festival Celebrating the Best of France in New York Sunday, July 11, 2010 Noon to 6pm East 60th Street, from Fifth to Lexington Avenues Rain or Shine!
Peachy Deegan is so excited for Bastille Day! Not only is July 14th her grandmother's birthday and also the birthday of her best friend Mickey, but it is also Bastille Day! Peachy Deegan first learned bits of french from Sylvain Turgeon and Sylvain Cote inbetween periods during the Hartford Whalers games, and later on studied in in school for six years. The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), New York's premiere French cultural center, announced today the festivities planned for this year’s edition of Bastille Day on 60th Street, New York’s biggest and brightest French celebration.
For more than ten years, Bastille Day on 60th Street has been the largest public celebration in New York of the friendship between France and the United States: nearly 25,000 visitors attended the fête in 2009. Originally commemorating France’s Independence Day, Bastille Day has grown to be a celebration of liberty, freedom, and cultural diversity, echoing on both sides of the Atlantic. Bastille Day on 60th Street is a unique gathering of French-speaking people and American Francophiles, all yearning for the tastes, sounds, and joie de vivre of France.
Spanning three city blocks, between Fifth Avenue and Lexington Avenue on East 60th Street, Bastille Day offers a fun-filled street fête that abounds with food, music, games, and more. For six hours, the street is closed to traffic and dedicated to Franco-American celebrations. This year’s fair will be a celebration of the French way of life, offering the best of France in New York.
Highlights will include:
· French music and dance showcase, including the wildly popular French Can-Can dancers, to be presented on the main stage located at the west corner of 60th Street and Park Avenue throughout the afternoon
· French treats, including a wine and cheese tasting at the FIAF building, crêpes and pastries galore, a wonderful selection of delectable macarons, high-end restaurant booths, and the François Chocolate Bar by François Payard
· Fabulous raffle prizes, including two Grand Prize trips to France and drawings throughout the day
· Family activities, including a pétanque contest, the Kids’ Corner organized by the FIAF Language Center, face painting, games, and classic Citroën cars
· Beauty and wellness products, including offerings from vendors such as the famous Galeries Lafayette and also featuring VuBAR, a beautiful 1950s airstream bus dedicated to Votre Vu’s luxury French skincare products
Entertainment on the main stage will feature the ever-popular traditional Can-Can dancers. They will be performing at 2pm and 3:30pm.
Other entertainment will include Pierre de Gaillande, whose incredible adaptations of icon Georges Brassens’ classic chansons gracefully maintain the feel of the originals while translating their texts into English, as well as Les Sans Culottes, an energetic francophone rock band whose music finds inspiration in ‘60s French pop music icons such as Serge Gainsbourg and Jacques Dutronc. Moroccan singer and composer Malika Zarra will also perform, delighting crowds with her sumptuous voice and multicultural infusion of jazz with French and Middle Eastern musical styles.
Bastille Day on 60th Street
Sunday, July 11, 2010 from 12:00 noon - 6pm
Public Transportation:
Subway - 4, 5, 6 to 59th Street; N, R to 5th Avenue; E to 53rd Street & 5th Avenue.
Bus - M1, M2, M3, M4, Q 31 to 59th Street; M5 to 58th Street.
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Merci!
Bastille Day on 60th Street is made possible with the generous support of its sponsors.
Support is provided by: American Airlines (Official Airline of FIAF), Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB), France 24, Lactalis Deli, Natixis, TV5 Monde, Consulate General of Switzerland, GogoSqueez, Kronenbourg, and Volvic.
Media partners include: France-Amérique, France Today.
About the Comité du 14 juillet,
The Comité du 14 juillet, the presenter of Bastille Day on 60th Street, is comprised of Accueil New York, the Committee of French Speaking Societies, Inc., Consulate General of France in New York, The Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York, France-Amérique, France Today magazine, The French-American Chamber of Commerce, The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), French Tuesdays, Maison de la France (The French Government Tourist Office), Rail Europe and UBIFRANCE The French Agency for International Business Development.
About FIAF
FIAF, a not-for-profit organization created in 1898 by American Francophiles, is one of the largest and most respected centers of French-American activities in the United States, widely known as the home of New York’s foremost French language school, the leading all-French library in the country, and New York’s only performing arts center dedicated to French and Francophone culture. FIAF is dedicated to encouraging interaction and better understanding between French-speaking and American communities by creating programs in the arts and education that promote and enhance knowledge of French and Francophone culture.
