Frenchtown Couture!
Frenchtown will kick off its Bastille Day Fete with a fashion show highlighting its je-ne-sais-quoi couture. This year’s event, which will be held on Saturday, July 16th from noon until night features all things classic French, and classic Frenchtown – classic cars, petanque, music and food are just of a few reasons to come join in the celebration.
The Frenchtown Couture Fashion Show will start the day at noon and will showcase fashions from local boutiques, shops and designers. Seth Andrew & Doug Miller Jazz Duo will accompany the fashion show and play through the early afternoon. The swinging sounds of Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra will be heard along Bridge Street from 2pm to 5pm. Freedom Art and Music will have live music and an art show in their courtyard on Race Street. Plein air artists will be found around the corner and along the river capturing the beauty and unique vistas of Frenchtown.
This year’s fete is full of fun for the entire family! Get your face painted, enjoy a puppet show, a scavenger hunt, and play a little petanque. Don’t know petanque from petunias? There will be some experienced players of this French favorite on hand to give guidance.
Plus, come see professional pogoers doing extreme pogo stick demos. Local Extreme athletes Nik Taylor and Henry Cebalus, students at New Hope Solebury High School, have performed for the Pope in Vatican City, on the Great Wall of China and at the Eiffel Tower in Paris!
Bastille Day certainly wouldn’t be the same without the Stilt Walker and Mime entertaining visitors as they stroll through town listening live music.
Shops and galleries throughout Frenchtown will have special sales, activities, food, raffles and much more. Madame DeFarge will be knitting away at The Spinnery and you might even run into Marie Antoinette at the Pirate Cupcake Truck. The Book Garden will once again welcome the River Union Stage Puppet Show to the backyard.
The Bridge Café will offer Street Side French-Vietnamese fare and Early Bird Café wil tempt you with made-to-order crepes. Other restaurants will offer favorite French fare and Food Trucks will dish out delicious favorites.
Frenchtown was named after a wealthy French-speaking immigrant who purchased the land in 1794. Henri Mallet-Prevost was a Swiss fugitive of the French Revolution who ran to New Jersey to escape the guillotine. Since Prevost and other early settlers were French speaking, other locals began referring to the area as “French’s Town.”
Learn more about Frenchtown’s rich history during one of Rick Epstein’s walking tours – he’ll be setting off on four tours during the festivities.
After walking through Frenchtown’s history, visitors are invited to end the day with a journey to Gertrude Stein’s famed Left Bank salon with Raconteur Radio. This theatrical experience will immerse visitors into an evening with Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Isadora Duncan, Henri Matisse, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Salvador Dali, Alice B. Toklas, and, of course, the Mother of Modernism herself.
Visit Frenchtown Today on Facebook or www.frenchtownnj.org for updates and head over on Frenchtown on Saturday, July 16th from noon until night for the 18th annual Bastille Day Fete.
The Bastille Day Fete is organized by the Frenchtown Business and Professional Association and supported by the following event sponsors: TD Bank, Opdyke Lumber, River Mills Frenchtown, Stem Brothers, Schenberger Insurance, Golden Pheasant Inn, and H&H Transport.
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