Jamison Square Park
Saturday, July 10, 2010
12:00 noon – 8:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public

French wine, cuisine, art and sport; Portland Waiters Race, pétanque exhibitions and “Le Jazz” by the Patrick Lamb Band

The Portland Bastille Day Committee will present the 8th Annual Bastille Day Festival at Jamison Square Park on Saturday, July 10 from 12:00 noon to 8 p.m. The event is free, open to the public and for people of all ages. Bastille Day festivals – held in cities all around the world – celebrate the storming of the Bastille Prison on July 14, 1789, an event which is recognized as the start of the French Revolution. The 2009 event in Portland was among the largest such festivals on the West Coast, with close to 8,000 visitors (click here to view pictures), and was filmed in 2008 by PBS for a documentary that was shown nationally on TV. This year’s festival will feature a variety of vendors and organizations offering French wine, cuisine, music, art and sport.

Bastille Day in the Pearl events will include:

- The 6th Annual Portland Waiters Race, at 2:00 p.m., featuring speed-walking waiters and waitresses from local area restaurants in a race around Jamison Park – the racers compete on speed and agility in balancing a serving tray. Cash prizes will be awarded to the three top finishers in the women’s and men’s divisions. The course is three times around the park (approximately one mile).

- Main stage entertainment acts, including the Patrick Lamb Band for “Le Jazz,” Eric John Kaiser (Portland’s French troubadour), Ian Clemens (traditional music from Brittany), and many others.

- French-style food and wine – everything from tasty chouquette pastries from St Honoré Boulangerie, croissants from La Provence, merguez sausage sandwiches, pommes frites and other French specialties from Fenouil Restaurant, pastries from Nuvrei, sandwiches from Lovejoy Bakery, mussels from Chez Joly, and more.

- The Jardin of Wine and Beer will feature French beer (Kronenbourg), extensive wine selections from Georges Duboeuf, the French panaché (a mixture of beer and imported French limonade) plus delightful aperitifs such as Lillet. And more . . .

- A French-themed market with products from France including linens from the South of France (Les Couleurs de Provence), jewelry, French-inspired products from Azzurro, and products from Versailles in the Pearl. Booths offering information on learning French at a number of Northwest schools and camps, for students of all ages.

- Ongoing pétanque demonstrations and lessons organized by the Portland Pétanque Club.

- Singing of La Marseillaise on the main stage, led by Melanie Downie Zupan and the all-female quintet, the Julians. Words provided for public sing-a-long.

- “Le Jardin des Enfants” (Children’s Area) – performances for children aged 3 and up, by Fabulations, a local French language performance company, face painting and French-themed crafts for children (all day).