Join us for the Bastille Day Festival and Bal Populaire! The very first San Francisco Bastille Day celebration took place in 1880, and this year - 138 years later - the Official Committee of French-American Organizations of Northern California is planning a grand Bastille Day celebration with a Kermesse (outdoor festival) followed by a Bal Populaire (firemen’s ball) a la Française. The event opens at 10 am and runs till 7 pm on Saturday July 14th at Embarcadero Plaza, across from the Ferry Building.

The free admission event organized under the patronage of the Consul General of France in San Francisco, Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, is open to all French and American residents and visitors of the Bay Area to enjoy a multitude of French establishments, food, wine and beer booths, a Citroen vintage car show, games of “Pétanque”, a kid’s garden, tours of the San Francisco’s French Quarter, French musicians, and all kinds of fun for the entire family! And for the first time ever in San Francisco, there will be a “Course de Serveuses et Garçons de Café” (waiters race)!

The day’s activities will culminate at 5 pm with the enjoyment of a “Bal Populaire” featuring local French bands, including Rue’66, San Francisco’s only authentic 60s French “yé yé” band, and Virginie Marine, dubbed “La nouvelle voix de la Chanson Française”. The Bastille Day celebration is expected to draw-up thousands of visitors throughout the day!

We invite you to discover the amazing French companies, culinary delights, wines, Kronenbourg beer, and other beverage providers that will partake in this wonderful celebration by going to our website: www.bastilledaysf.org.