New Rochelle Grand Market Will Celebrate Bastille Day Saturday

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle's downtown Grand Market will be showing its joie de vivre Saturday, July 15 for a Bastille Day celebration — with French food, music and culture offering delights for the Francophile in everyone. French cooking demonstrations, songs sung in French and free berets (while supplies last) will help fill market-goers with a sense of bonhomie as they enjoy the day, presented by the Grand Market organizers, the New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District (BID).

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Ruby Dee Park at Library Green (Huguenot and Lawton streets), the activities will come one day after the official Bastille Day and will help New Rochelle celebrate its French roots, which date back to the 1600s.

In addition to the berets, red balloons will be available, evoking the classic 1956 French short film "The Red Balloon."

The lineup for the day is as follows:

Singing:

• Armelle Gloaguen will perform children’s songs in French from 11 a.m. till noon.
• Charles Hipser, a Paris-born folk musician, will sing songs in French from noon till 1 p.m.

Cooking:

• Estelle Gourmet of Larchmont will offer a French cooking demonstration.
• Sonia Urban, a Grand Market regular specializing in healthy foods, will show how to make ratatouille.

Activities:

• A raffle will be held for a gift basked featuring French-themed treats along with an assortment of other goodies from Grand Market vendors.
• Franco-friendly activities for kids, including a Le Petit Prince photo booth, will be hosted by the Lyceum Kennedy International School of Ardsley.
• Montefiore Medical Center, a leading sponsor of the Grand Market, will also provide French-themed activities.

Photo credit: Submitted.