Organizers of the Bastille Day celebration at Bow Market say the event was a great success. — Photo courtesy of Bow Market

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

On Wednesday, July 14, a Bastille Day event was held at Bow Market. Commemorating the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution, Bastille Day has been celebrated for 232 years.

This year’s event was organized by Alexandra Whisnant, one of the many shop owners at Bow Market. She said the reason that she wanted to bring Bastille Day to the market was that “it was the celebration of French culture.”

For the event, “picnics” – which doubled as admission – were sold at $75. The picnics included a baguette, cheese, wine glasses and a choice between a bottle of rosé or beer.

According to the reservation website, the event also had other attractions for attendees.

“As in France, alcohol will be consumed throughout the market, there will be a charming mime, and – for those up for a game – a pétanque court.”

Other attractions and products that were available for purchase at the event included cotton candy. “There will be barbe à papa from ‘le petit pouf’ available for purchase, featuring her artisanal cotton candy in French-inspired flavors such as Champagne sparkle, lavender, and salted caramel.”

The festival was held at Bow Market for the first time in 2019. However, due to COVID, the 2020 celebration was canceled, so this is only its second occurrence.

“So we did a party in 2019, and we had everybody pre-order picnics that came in tote bags so we thought of doing it last year as a take-home bag instead of a party, but we decided not to, so we didn’t do anything last year,” Whisnant said.

Regardless of the gap year between 2019 and 2021, the Bastille Day celebration saw great success in its attendance as a whole. According to Whisnant, “It was a big success, it was so fun, so many people came.”

Whisnant also said that Bastille Day at Bow Market will be held again in 2022. “It was such a great party and I’m sure we will throw it again next year,” she said.