Bastille Day In NYC: Upper East Side Party Celebrates French Independence

UPPER EAST SIDE, NEW YORK — If you haven't had enough of Independence Day celebrations, you're in luck. There's another party marking a revolution right around the corner.

Bastille Day – which marks the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris in 1789 and the formation of the French republic – is on July 14. And francophiles are marking it on the Upper East Side.

French Institute Alliance Française is planning a day of festivities June 9, between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m., to celebrate Bastille Day in New York. It will take place on 60th Street between Fifth and Lexington avenues.

The celebrations will include performances by musicians including French baritone opera singer David Serero, Brooklyn rapper Napoleon Da Legend and a performance by can-can dancers. There will be food stands, pop-up boutiques and family events.

Guests will have a chance to enjoy French cuisine during the Champagne & chocolate tasting at Le Skyroom from 12.30 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. The Summer in the South of France tasting will offer selections from Southern French cuisine at the Tinker Auditorium between 12 p.m. and 4.30 p.m.

The celebrations will conclude with a screening of the movie Dalida, which explores the life of Egyptian-born French singer and actress Yolanda Cristina Gigliotti, better know as Dalida. The screening will begin at 5.3o p.m. in Florence Gould Hall and will be followed by a Q&A session with director Liza Azuelos.

Now in its 20th year, Bastille Day attracted around 40,000 guests in 2016. It is the largest Franco-American celebration that takes place in New York.

Lead image via tim.z/Flickr