Celebrate Bastille Day in Central Park on July 14th!

Bastille Day!, Central Park

 

 

 

In a first for New York City, the Consulate General of France in New York, the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF), and the Committee of French Speaking Societies (CAFUSA) will present a special Bastille Day Celebration in Central Park on Wednesday, July 14th, beginning at 6:00pm featuring live jazz, a dance party and a new French film.

Celebrating Bastille Day 2018 on 60th Street
First up is a jazz quintet headlined by vocalist Kavita Shah (whose “amazing dexterity with musical languages” has been hailed by NPR). Then comes a get-up-and-dance set with movie clips by star Joachim Garraud (who has collaborated with David Guetta, Mylène Farmer, and Kylie Minogue). The evening concludes with a screening of the 2020 French comedy My Donkey, My Lover & I(Antoinette dans les Cévennes) starring the delightful Laure Calamy (Call My Agent!).

Check out the schedule of events:
5:00pm — Doors Open
6:30pm — Opening Address
6:40pm — National Anthems of France and the United States

Vocalist, Kavita Shah
6:50pm — Jazz Quintet with Vocalist Kavita Shah
The Bastille Day celebration kicks off with a live jazz band performing a selection of beloved French classics. The quintet is headlined by French Grammy-nominated singer Kavita Shah, and features Matt Munisterion guitar, Matt Penman on bass, Ferenc Nemeth on drums, and Olivier Manchon on violin.

Joachim Garraud
7:30pm — French House Dance Party with Joachim Garraud
Joachim Garraud, an important member of the French Touch (or French House) music scene, who has collaborated with David Guetta, will mix classic French electronic and house music with movie excerpts on the big screen. Garraud’s portion of the evening will turn the festivities into a lively dance party!

French Film: My Donkey, My Lover & I
8:20pm — French Film: My Donkey, My Lover & I (Antoinette dans les Cévennes)

Antoinette dans les Cévennes
Dir. Caroline Vignal, France, 2020
With Laure Calamy, Benjamin Lavernhe, Olivia Côte
In French with English subtitles
Cannes Label 2020

Directed by Caroline Vignal, this warm comedy features stunning landscapes, a gentle touch, a few slapstick flourishes, and a tour-de-force star turn from Laure Calamy (Call My Agent!). On an impulse, Paris schoolteacher Antoinette (Calamy) decides to follow her married lover Vladimir and his family on a hiking holiday. Yet she soon realizes this impromptu vacation is more than she bargained for, as she finds herself trekking across the Cévennes mountains with only a recalcitrant donkey named Patrick to keep her company.

Bastille Day 2018, from our archives

Bastille Day 2021 Prize Drawing: 

Continuing a Bastille Day tradition, FIAF’s popular prize drawing returns, with more than a dozen fabulous prizes up for grabs online.

This year’s grand prize is a luxurious two-night stay in a Terrace Suite—complete with a bottle of Champagne and skyline views—at Sofitel New York.

Premier prizes include a Thermomix® TM6™ appliance and a FIAF Premier Membership & French Class package.

Prize-drawing tickets will be available through 6pm ET on Wednesday, July 21, with the online drawing held at 6:30pm ET that day.

Celebrate Bastille Day 2021 at SummerStage in Central Park at Rumsey Playfield on Wednesday, July 14th at 6:30pm. This is a Free event. All chairs and lawn seats are first-come, first-served.

From our Archives ~ Bastille Day at 60th Street, NYC
Looking for the Greater New York Citroen & Velosolex annual Bastille Day gathering? Follow their pop-up rally on July 18th.

While you wait, take a ride downtown and visit Lady Liberty’s ‘Little Sister’, a gift to the United States from France, on view July 1st to July 5th on Ellis Island.