Fête
FIAF’s Bastille Day Celebration

Sunday, July 14, 2019
12–5pm
60th Street, from Fifth Avenue to Lexington Avenue, NYC



Celebrate Bastille Day at New York’s liveliest summer fête presented by FIAF and Côte d’Azur France!

Abounding with French cuisine, musique, dance, and myriad attractions for the whole family, this three-block fête populaire invites New Yorkers to revel in the flavors, sounds, and joie de vivre of France.

For over 20 years, FIAF has hosted New York’s largest public celebration of France’s national holiday, Bastille Day. The day commemorates the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 and the birth of the modern French nation.

Don’t miss this festive afternoon of French food, wine, culture, and entertainment.


HIGHLIGHTS:

Summer in Provence Tasting

12-4:30pm
FIAF Tinker Auditorium, 22 East 60th Street

Featuring wines from Château d’Esclans, Château de la Clapière, Château La Gordonne, and Miraval, cocktails from Ricard, beers from Kronenbourg, cheese from Président, and charcuterie from Trois Petits Cochons.

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Champagne, Cocktail, and Jazz Party

1:30–3pm • 3:30–5pm
FIAF Skyroom, 22 East 60th Street

Champagnes from Besserat de Bellefon, Delamotte, Laurent-Perrier, Michel Gonet, and Pol Roger, and cocktails from Giffard will be served along with treats from Jacques Torres Chocolate, Ladurée, and Maman Bakery. The Avalon Jazz Band will perform.

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Prize Drawing

Grand Prize — Luxury Escape to Côte d’Azur – Cannes for Two!

Additional prizes include a Thermomix® TM5 digital countertop appliance, a customized gold bracelet by Atelier Paulin, French beauty products, gourmet gift baskets, and lots more.

Drawing on July 14 at 5pm on the Main Stage (60th Street & Park Avenue). You do not need to be present to win.

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Côte d’Azur France Village

12—5pm
60th Street, near Madison Avenue

Côte d’Azur Village spotlights the south-east region of France, famed for luxury travel & cruise, shopping, culture, wine, gastronomy, golf, nature, and more.

Presented by the Côte d’Azur France Tourism Board, along with 20 partners from the region, the Village will offer visitors special travel deals, prizes, and activities courtesy of Fragonard Parfumeur, les P’tites Ouvreuses, Hôtel Verlaine Cannes, Mouratoglou Resort in Biot, and Hotels.com/Expedia Group.

  • Learn More
    • Nice, Antibes Juan-les-Pins, Cannes, Biot, Mougins, Grasse, Eze, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, le Parc National du Mercantour… discover Côte d’Azur France!

      Presenters: Côte d’Azur France Tourism Board; Tourism offices of Cannes and Nice Côte d’Azur; the Provence Regional Tourism Board; hotels (from Cannes: Le Grand Hotel Cannes, Radisson Blu 1835 Hotel & Thalasso Cannes, Intercontinental Carlton Cannes, Cézanne Hotel & Spa, Hôtel Renoir, Hôtel Verlaine; from Nice: Radisson Blu Nice, Hotel Plaza Nice, Splendid Hotel & Spa, Hôtel Gounod; Château la Chèvre d’Or in Eze; Château le Cagnard in Cagnes-sur-Mer; Beachcomber French Riviera at the Mouratoglou Resort in Biot; Hotel Belles Rives and Hotel Juana in Juan-les-Pins Cap d’Antibes); DMC Make Events; Liven Up excursions and driving experiences; and My Riviera Tours and cooking classes.

The French Garden

12–5pm
60th Street, from Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue

Stop by our premier area showcasing luxury French fashion, accessories, food, and travel brands.

Featured boutiques:

French Wink will feature these brands:

Market Booths

12–5pm
60th Street, from Madison Avenue to Lexington Avenue

More than 40 top purveyors of French food, beauty, fashion, culture, and travel will be featured at this year’s Bastille Day fête.

FIAF Info Booths

12–5pm
Located at corner of 60th Street and Fifth Avenue; In front of FIAF, on 60th Street, between Madison Avenue & Park Avenue; and Corner of 60th Street and Lexington Avenue

FIAF is New York’s premier center for French language and culture. Come speak with us and discover our membership benefits, French classes for kids and adults, our onsite and digital Library, and 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!

Live Performances

12:35—5pm
Main Stage (60th Street & Park Avenue)

Enjoy live music and dance performances by artists from France and New York on the main stage and along 60th Street.

  • 12:35pm — Can-Can by Joanna Wronska
    • Joanna Wronska is US-based professional dancer, trained actress, and choreographer. She is fluent in English, Polish, French and Russian. Joanna has lived and performed in France, Singapore, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Italy, Caribbean, Croatia, Morocco, and USA. She has performed with the famous “Jubilee!” show in Las Vegas, the prestigious “Crazy Horse” cabaret in Paris, the City Ballet of Los Angeles, the Norwegian Cruise Line’s dance and magic shows “Elements” and “Illusionarium”, the “Come Fly with Me” musical, and the “Pirates Adventure” acrobatics show in Spain.

  • 12:40pm — Chloé Perrier & The French Heart Jazz Band
    • Ms. Perrier will be accompanied by Aki Ishiguro (guitar), Jim Robertson (bass), Rodrigo Recabarren (drums), Jon Hunt (clarinet), and Caroline Bugala (violin)

      Chloé Perrier is a French Jazz singer based in NYC. Chloé started acting, singing, and playing the violin at a young age. While studying at the Bill Evans Piano Academy in Paris, Chloé started to write and compose her first songs. Today, she performs with her new band The French Heart Jazz Band at several venues and clubs in Paris and New York City, as well as live on radio and TV shows such as Telematin in France. Whether she is interpreting great jazz standards, the bossa nova, French songs, or her own compositions, she transports the audience into her poetic and romantic universe. She is currently preparing her second album with her band. It will feature a mix of French chansons and American jazz standards from the 20s to the 40s with a continental flare.

      Image © JF Aloïsi

  • 12:50–4:20pm — Live Art with artist Cocovan (On 60th Street)
    • French-Iranian performance artist Cocovan brings her acclaimed participatory art project, The World Letter, to New York City for Bastille Day! Cocovan sets out a desk on the street and invites pedestrians to come write a collective love letter to the world on a giant scroll of paper. The project premiered in June 2017 as a one-day-only event but soon evolved into a series of art installations in public spaces around the world. The World Letter has been signed by more than 20,000 contributors from 132 countries. Paris born, the 30-year old Cocovan is currently based in New York.

      Image © Adeline Rebeillard

  • 12:50–4:20pm — Mime with Catherine Gasta (On 60th Street)
    • Cat Gasta, the Mime, aka Mime for Hire returns for her 10th year to FIAF Bastille Day! One of NYC’s premier mimes, catch her strolling the fête, showing her collection of invisible masks and other inspired mime classics. Don’t forget to tag @catgasta when you take a photo with your favorite mime!

  • 12:55–5pm — Citroën Car Show (Fifth Avenue at 60th Street)
    • FIAF Bastille Day will once again be the finish point for
      The Greater New York Citroën & Velosolex Club’s Annual Bastille Day Rally & RendezVous. Car lovers will be able to get up close to classic models of the popular French automobile. With over 40 Citroën automobiles, Velosolex motorized bicycles, and other vehicles from France, the Rally is the largest active automotive event in New York City. This year, the Rally will be featured in Citroën’s global heritage documentary online series in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Citroën.

  • 1:10pm, 2:15pm, 3:15pm — The Love Show (dance)
    • The Love Show is a theatrical dance company that combines cabaret, ballet, contemporary, rock, comedy, and theater into creative performances all over the US and beyond. For Bastille Day, they will present a thrilling dance program that seamlessly blends hip hop, ballet, jazz, contemporary dance, and tap. The program will feature songs like “I Love Paris”, “Sparkling Diamonds” (from Moulin Rouge), and other fun and upbeat French-themed tracks.

  • 1:25pm — Feather Dance by Joanna Wronska
    • Joanna Wronska is US-based professional dancer, trained actress, and choreographer. She is fluent in English, Polish, French and Russian. Joanna has lived and performed in France, Singapore, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Italy, Caribbean, Croatia, Morocco, and USA. She has performed with the famous “Jubilee!” show in Las Vegas, the prestigious “Crazy Horse” cabaret in Paris, the City Ballet of Los Angeles, the Norwegian Cruise Line’s dance and magic shows “Elements” and “Illusionarium”, the “Come Fly with Me” musical, and the “Pirates Adventure” acrobatics show in Spain.

  • 1:30pm — World Music by The Blue Dahlia
    • Brooklyn-born, NYC and Paris-based chanteuse Dahlia Dumont presents The Blue Dahlia, an international work that mixes chanson française, reggae, klezmer, Latin rhythms, ska and swing to create a warm and soulful sound driven by a fun and joyful energy.

  • 2:30pm — Les P’tites Ouvreuses - French Riviera Band
    • The French Riviera band Les P’tites Ouvreuses is know for their popular French songs and performances created at the crossroads of dance, popular poetry, and world music. They create a positive exhuberant atmosphere and it becomes irresistible to join them in dance. Featuring Cédric Gonnet (lead vocal, guitar and dances) and Nadine Bentivoglio (vocal and accordion).

  • 3pm — Hungry March Band (On 60th Street)
    • Put on your dancing shoes for the Hungry March Band’s curbside Bal Populaire! The band’s original compositions are inspired by New Orleans street bands, European brass traditions, Gypsy/Roma classics, jazz, wedding brass bands from India, and the global community of New York. Break out your dance moves and fancy threads—we’ve got a party going on.

  • 3:30pm — Rodeo Joe (rock band)
    • Rodeo Joe has been playing Rock ‘n’ Roll all over Europe and North America since the mid-80’s. The band was conceived in the western suburbs of Paris when the four band members bought an old Citroen truck “the Tube” and toured France with a repertoire of Blues and Southern Rock covers finding gigs at bars, festivals, village events… Smiles up to the ears, Rodeo Joe offers a live-show cooked with a good dose of rockNroll-Boogie-Blues and a splash of world-music secret ingredients. The lyrics evoke the current society with its joys and sorrows: lost girls, memorable travels.

  • 4:15pm — Zouk Dance Lesson with Franck Muhel
    • Learn an exotic and modern Caribbean dance from renowned choreographer and teacher Franck Muhel.

Fly Away with Books Workshops

1–4pm • Ages 4-10 • Free!
FIAF Library Booth, 60th Street, between Madison and Park Avenues

Renowned French illustrators and authors will lead three playful and imaginative workshops for kids, presented in partnership with Fly Away with Books, a program of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy’s family program Kids Trail.

  • 1–2pm: Geometry of Animals with Lucie Brunellière
    • Arts & Crafts | Ages 4 & up

      Inspired by the book Deep in the Ocean (La grande plongée).

      Drawing animals requires documentation and observation. Lucie Brunellière will show kids how to observe an image, identify geometric shapes, copy them onto paper or use cut out shapes, consider graphic design and textures, and put the finishing touches to create the image of an animal.

  • 2–3pm: Full Speed Ahead! with Cruschiform
    • Card Game | Ages 7-10

      Inspired by the book Full Speed Ahead! How Fast Things Go.

      Kids will compete in teams to sort and rank vehicles and animals by their speed, from slowest to fastest. Does a cheetah run faster than an antelope? Is a falcon faster than a Formula 1 car? Some animals may surprise you!

  • 3–4pm: Pop-up Art with Anouck Boisrobert & Louis Rigaud
    • Arts & Crafts | Ages 6 & up

      After a short presentation of their pop-up books, the author-illustrator creative duo of Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud will teach kids techniques to create 3D vegetables and an animated 3D scene.

      Each child will create a garden-themed pop-up card to take home.

Gérard Chambre: Si on chantait l’Amour

3pm • Free!
FIAF Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street

Renowned French singer Gérard Chambre, with Eric Breton at the piano, will perform French songs made memorable by singers like Charles Trenet, Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Yves Montand, Charles Aznavour, Johnny Hallyday, and others whose voices left their mark on France and the world. Performance presented in partnership with Pierre Cardin.

“After great success in Paris and around the world, I am delighted to bring Gérard Chambre’s show to New York for FIAF’s Bastille Day celebration.” — Pierre Cardin

Special Screening: C'est la vie!

5:30pm
FIAF Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street
In French with English subtitles

In this delightful comedy from Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, the duo behind the award-winning film The Intouchables, a wedding planner/caterer must pull off a magnificent wedding in a 17th-century French château while the celebration and his personal life descend into chaos.

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Questions?

Email bastilleday@fiaf.org to become a sponsor, rent a booth, or if you have any questions.