Bastille Day Celebration, July 18th
Oui, we CAN CAN!
Celebrating 20 years of Friendship with our Sister City!
July 18, 2009
Noon - 11:00 pm
Historical Downtown Montgomery -
With the attitude and the artistic flair this traditional Montgomery Celebration will open for a day long mingling of fun, food, drinks and entertainment for the whole family to enjoy! Area restaurants will feature a variety of French cuisine and wine to honor our friendship with sister city Neuilly-Plaisance as well as the local favorites: ribs, pizza, funnel cakes, fries and beer. Entertainment is speckled with talent of all sorts and the sounds to keep you moving.
In the street café area guests can enjoy raffles, strolling artists, musicians and singers. The kids area is alive with games of luck, artistic projects, face painting, clowns and a moonwalk. Make this day a plan for great family fun or an evening at a fabulous summer fest for two! Either way, the Bastille Day celebration in downtown historic Montgomery has something to offer to you.
Music
- Sycamore Community Band (Classic Orchestra) Noon - 1:00 pm on Main Stage
- The Rusty Griswolds (80s Pop) 7:30 - 11pm on Main Stage
- Leroy Ellington & The E-Funk Band (70s Funk) 8:30 - 11:00pm on North Stage
- Deron Bell (Motown) 3:30 - 7:30pm on North Stage
- Ridge Runner (Country) 2:30 - 5:0pm on Main Stage
- Waiting for Ben (Pop/Rock) 12:30 - 2:30pm on North Stage
Special Bastille Day Features
Tour de Montgomery Bike Rides- Ride between 7 and 70 miles (4 distance options) for just $30 per rider in advance or $40 day of. Rides start at Montgomery Elementary between 8am and 10am. Event done in partnership with HeartStone Foundation.
Bastille Day Beer Tasting at Village Tavern - Taste 8 beers from around the world. An expert will be on hand to describe the subtle differences in each beer. Space limited to first 50 registered. Remaining spots will be sold at the event ticket booth between noon and 4pm.
4:00 - 6:00 p.m. - Must be 21 (ID's will be checked at the door)
$20 single / $35 couple if registered in advance
$25 single / $45 couple if purchased on the day of the event
The following are the eight beers for the beer tasting:
- Belhaven- Scotland - This is a creamy dark ale
- Carlsberg - Denmark - Light
- Hacker Pschor - Germany - Lager, brown ale
- Kingfisher - India- don't know too much about
- Kronembourg 1664 - France - nice, multi light beer
- Paulener - Germany - like a Blue Moon
- Moreti La Rossa - Italy - Very potent, dark red beer
- Smithwicks - Ireland - Like a bass
Historic Walking Tour - Join a guide on a 45-minute walking tour of Montgomery's preserved landmark homes and buildings dating back to the 1800’s. Meet at Universalist Church at 1pm and 5:30pm. Free.
Guitar Hero Booth - Spend a buck to challenge your friends to a flying finger
duel on the guitar to some of the best rock songs! Open from 4-10pm.
Diaper Derby – Pampers sponsors this crawling action at 4 pm. Sign up at the City Information Booth to enter your “crawler” in the 4th annual Diaper Derby.
Fashion Show by Obsess Boutique at 1pm (north stage) and 5:30pm (main stage). Local teens will strut the latest in fashion with the style and flair of French fashionistas! Haute Coutre!
Cooking Demo by Stone Creek Chef Adam at 1:30pm (main stage). Get a lesson in French cooking and some great tasting samples too!
Art Exhibit - in Universalist Church: Exhibit about our friendship with sister city Neuilly-Plaisance "20 years of Friendship" Recycling Contest display.
What is Bastille Day you ask?
The City of Montgomery honors and celebrates the 20 year relationship we have established through exchanges and communications with Nieully-Plaissance, France. Our main event, Bastille Day, is a summer street festival set up as a fundraiser for the Sister Cities Commission which supports the continued efforts to maintain our long-distance friendship with creative projects done year round by this commission.
To the French, Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on July 14 each year. In France, it is called "Fête Nationale" ("National Holiday"). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on July 14,1789. The anniversary of the storming of the Bastille was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution. Festivities are held the morning of 14 July, the largest on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic.
In the City of Montgomery, we celebrate our Sister City with a street festival that has some French flair added throughout. Some of the French accents at the festival include French foods such as crepes, French wine selections, strolling clarinetist and accordionist, mimes, CanCan dancers, French music in the performance by the Sycamore Community Band, the Tour de Montgomery bike ride, strolling costumed characters selling stemmed flowers, art displays and other little splashes of related visuals from the French flags to beret-wearing volunteers.
The significance of Bastille Day
For Montgomery, the event celebrates our City’s 19-years of friendship with our Sister City, Neuilly-Plaisance, France. This bond has been enriched throughout this time span by a variety of back-to back cultural exchanges with youth soccer teams, government officials, education professionals and craftsmen. The summer street festival is a unique event organized for the enjoyment of our community members. It is also a fundraiser for the Sister Cities Commission to help support exchanges and programs like the annual International Reception that epitomizes the commission’s motto…”Bringing the World Together One Friendship at a Time.”
To the French, Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated annually on July 14 each year. In France, the day is called “Fête Nationale.” The holiday commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789.
The anniversary of the storming of the Bastille was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.
Festivities are held the morning of July 14, the largest on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in the audience of the President of the Republic.
Area Civic Organizations add to the Bastille Day Experience
Many of our local non-profit civic organizations and volunteer based groups play a critical role in facilitating a memorable, community-oriented day of fun for the whole family as part of the annual City event, Bastille Day. This collaborative effort demonstrates how this event has evolved to truly be for the community through the community!
Over the years, this City special event has included volunteers that have added to the event services from local scout troops, the Sycamore Community Band, Blue Ash Montgomery Rotary, the HeartStone Foundation, the Alliance Francaise, the Sycamore Band Boosters, Montgomery Moms, Montgomery Makos, Montgomery Historic Preservation Association and this year, a special collaboration booth between the long participating Montgomery Woman’s Club and the newly established Prosper Montgomery business association. Many of our City boards and commissions also participate as volunteers at this event and do everything from decorating with plants, staffing the beer booths, acting as stage assistants and providing free sno-cones to all the kids. Some church groups have also served the community at this event by staffing kid’s game booths and giving out free snacks!
The community is a necessary and appreciated support system to this event and your attendance not only should give you a great summer memory but also gives many of these groups some fundraising dollars and exposure that allows them to continue to give back to the community in the many ways they serve all of us throughout the year.
Local non-profit groups looking to get involved in future events, call the Montgomery Recreation Department for the list of needed service areas and dates of events and see how you can play a role in our community events. We will be glad to work with you to further the mission of each unique event.