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July 14 is the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille and the beginning of the French Revolution. Bastille Day is celebrated throughout France and in many other places around the world.
Bastille Days in Cathedral Square Park in downtown Milwaukee is one of the largest French themed outdoor festivals in the world. The festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary in Milwaukee. This free four day attracts festival more than 250,000 people each year. They’ll enjoy live music, French and Cajun cuisine, on international marketplace and roaming performers. The festival will be happening on July 11, 12, 13 and 14, 2024.
Live Entertainment
There will be live entertainment throughout the festival. Performers include
- Daddio
- Paradise Jazz Band
- SNEEZY
- Kitty Soft Paw
- Milwaukee Ballet
- Kojo
- Jazzmen
- Bill Mulware & The Village
- TAYLOR
- Liam Ford Band
- Ana Everting Trio
- V2
- Funk Club Wagon
- Extra Crispy Brass Band
- The Listening Party
- One Louder
- Marjasama
- Brewtown Beat
- Vintage Groove
- Breaking Cadence
- Rustbucket
- Duosonic
- Six Pack Sammy
- Card Studs
- Palm Ghosts
- The First Wave
- Dianna Jones Band
- Sweet Shieks
- Wilderet
- Louie & The Flashbombs
- Terra Guitarra
- Blues Talk
- Kevin Soucie
- TaDah
- DJ Carbonella
- Gene Gruber
- Tamarind Tribal Belly Dance
- Jenn Leo
- French Folk with Daddy Squeeze & Friends
- Madame Gigi’s Outrageous French CanCan Dance
- Octavio Arcanjo
- Jennifer & The Drive
- SUGO
Other Festivities
Experience the joie de vivre of Paris with the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Street of Paris event. Explore the Museum’s exhibit of the modern poster, Jules Cheret. It includes a screening of the documentary “Night of a Colorblind France.” The Museum will have an outdoor beer garden, music, storytelling, dance performance, gallery tours, hands on art making and free Museum admission on Friday.
The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist will offer Coffee in the Garden, Cathedral tours, a free concert historic pipe organ and sacred music by French composers plus a Friday Candlelight prayer. The traditional French Mass will take place at 6:15 pm on Friday.
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Saturday is Kids Day at the festival from 10 am to 2 pm. The day will begin with a beignet breakfast, performance by the Milwaukee French Immersion School, Milwaukee Ballet’s Ballet Beat and other family friendly activities.
Bastille Days has an international marketplace that makes for a unique shopping experience. Enjoy delicious French and Cajun food and treats.
If 4 days of nonstop fun sounds good to you, then you should attend Milwaukee Bastille Days.
French Food
If you enjoyed the French food at the festival and want to learn more about French cooking, try these cookbooks. And you can use our ads to see how much money you can save on each of them.
- “Barefoot In Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make At Home” by Ina Garten
- “My Paris Kitchen: Recipes & Stories” by David Lebovitz
![My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories [A Cookbook]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41xk6JaFcUL._SL160_.jpg)
- “Plat du Jour French Dinners Made Easy” by Susan Herrmann
Or you can enjoy French cuisine at the 6 Best French Restaurants in Milwaukee as chosen by the users of TripAdvisor.
- Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro
- Beerline Cafe
- Maison
- Reynolds Pastry Shop
- Le Reve Patisserie & Cafe
- North Shore Boulangerie
Milwaukee Hotels
If you’d like to visit Milwaukee for Bastille Day, you should consider booking your hotel here. You’ll find some great deals with discounted rates as low as $88.