Bastille Celebration Returns To Upper East Side Sunday

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The French Institute Alliance Françoise’s Bastille Day Celebration is back in-person Sunday for the first time since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. From noon to 5:30 p.m. people can enjoy a myriad of attractions on Madison Avenue from 59th to 63rd streets.

Throughout the day, there will be free live music performances on 59th Street, down the street from FIAF’s Florence Gould Hall, the French language and cultural center’s theater on 55 East.

Chandler Dean will emcee the event, which includes roots and blues singer Paul Beaubrun and his band, a flex-style dance performance by Cal Hunt with street dancers, a dance party with DJ Orson and a special preview excerpt from the hit French musical “Notre Dame de Paris,” a week before the show makes its debut at Lincoln Center.

While listening to music, attendees can stop by The French Garden, a showcase of premier luxury fashion and accessories, food and travel by brands Thermonix, Thierry Atlan and Stephane Koerwyn in collaboration with French Wink, Angelina Paris, Bichon, OCabanon, Opinel, Payot, Silpat, Tissage Moutet and Oliviers & Co. from 60th to 61st streets.

Francophiles will also have the opportunity to check out food, beauty, fashion, culture and travel items from more than 40 top French purveyors, some of which include Brasserie Cognac, Maman Bakery, Mille-feuille Bakery Cafe, Hanami Designs, Barachou and Miss Madeleine from 60th to 63rd streets.

FIAF will also an onsite digital library, and a ticket booth from 60th to 63rd streets for people interested in getting a membership (10 percent Bastille Day discount), which includes French lessons for kids and adults, and information on upcoming screenings, performances and more programs.

From 12:30 to 5 p.m. at the FIAF Tinker Auditorium, located at 22 East 60th St., there will be a wine and cheese tasting. Guests will get a chance to discover renowned wine from France’s Occitanie region from Maison Antech, Château Maris and Château Haut-Blanville and non-alcoholic wines from Le Petit Béret. There will also be cheesy selections from cheese2u.com and zesty gazpacho from Karine & Jeff.

Children will enjoy a free Tour de France-themed arts and crafts corner, between 59th and 60th streets at the FIAF Language Center Booth, where instructors will lead coloring and paper bicycle activities in French from 1 to 4 p.m. Adults can join in on the fun and participate in a lively French trivia contest and even win prizes.

Guests can celebrate Bastille Day in style at a Champagne & Musette (bagpipe) party from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the FIAF Skyroom, located at 22 East 60th St. and listen to Chloé Perrier & the French Heart Jazz band as they take us back the Paris of old for with music from Edith Piaf to Josephine Baker to Charles Trenet and more.

A selection of champagnes from Billecart Salmon, Delamotte and Henriot, as well as delicious macarons from Thierry Atlan and savory hors d’oeuvres from Miss Madeleine will be available.

Movie lovers will could also check out a sneak preview screening of “Azuro” at the Florence Gould Hall at 5:30 p.m. The film, which is in French and has English subtitles, stars Valérie Donzelli.

Matthieu Rozé’s film is about friends on an annual summer vacation, just south-west of Marseille, having their group dynamic upended when a seductive stranger arrives making their routine Mediterranean holiday anything but boring.

There is also an online Dream Getaway for Two to France's Occitanie region, which people have until Bastille Day, July 14, to sign up. Visit fiaf.org to learn more about the celebration or the grand prize, which will be announced on July 15.