From French Can-Can dancers to road closures: Here's what to know about Bastille Days 2024

Claire Reid, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Updated ·6 min read

The iconic, 43-foot Eiffel Tower replica has gone up in Milwaukee's Cathedral Square Park, signaling that the Bastille Days street festival is almost here.

Bastille Days, Milwaukee's annual four-day French-themed celebration, returns for its 41st year on Thursday. The free festival features live music and performances, a marketplace of local vendors, plenty of French food and wine available for purchase, and the popular nighttime 5K race.

From French Can-Can dancers to baguette sandwiches to festival-related road closures, here's what to know about Bastille Days 2024.

The 43-foot Eiffel Tower appears each year in Cathedral Square Park for the annual celebration of Bastille Day. The tower was never supposed to be permanent, or assembled and disassembled each year for its appearance at the festival.
The 43-foot Eiffel Tower appears each year in Cathedral Square Park for the annual celebration of Bastille Day. The tower was never supposed to be permanent, or assembled and disassembled each year for its appearance at the festival.

When and where is Bastille Days?

Bastille Days takes place in downtown Milwaukee's Cathedral Square Park, 520 E. Wells St., from Thursday, July 11, to Sunday, July 14. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Runners begin the Storm the Bastille 5K run/walk on July 13, 2023, in Milwaukee.
Runners begin the Storm the Bastille 5K run/walk on July 13, 2023, in Milwaukee.

Storm the Bastille 5K: When is it and how to sign up

Bastille Days kicks off each year with the Storm the Bastille 5K, a 3.1-mile running race commemorating the storming of the Bastille, the 18th-century French prison, which sparked the French Revolution. The race route travels through downtown Milwaukee and the Third Ward.

This year, the race starts on Thursday, July 11, at 9 p.m. Participants should register online; registration is $35 per person. Early packet pickup is at the Milwaukee Athletic Club from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9. Race day packet pickup is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. under the white tent on the corner of Wells and Jefferson Streets.

If you're not interested in running, you can sign up to walk the race. Walkers can complete 1.5 miles and finish at the halfway mark at the Milwaukee Athletic Club water station. Over 3,000 runners and walkers of all paces are currently registered for the race. Registration includes a Storm the Bastille T-shirt, timed bib and post-race beer or bottled water. Learn more on the race website: runsignup.com/Race/WI/Milwaukee/StormtheBastille5k.

An official map of the Storm the Bastille 5K route. The race takes place on Thursday, July 11.
An official map of the Storm the Bastille 5K route. The race takes place on Thursday, July 11.

What does Bastille Days celebrate?

Bastille Days, Milwaukee's annual French-themed street festival, is one of the largest French-themed celebrations in the nation, attracting over 250,000 visitors each year.

It marks the French holiday of Bastille Day, which takes place on July 14 each year. Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, a violent uprising that helped usher in the French Revolution, History.com explains. The Bastille was a military fortress and prison that held gunpowder and other valuable supplies for the revolutionaries. To the revolutionaries, it also represented the tyranny of the French monarchy.

This will be the 41st year that Milwaukee has celebrated Bastille Days. The festival was first held in Cathedral Square in 1982. It celebrates the Juneautown neighborhood, its founder the French-Canadian fur trader Solomon Juneau and French culture.

A performer twirls hats in Cathedral Square Park during Bastille Days in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday, July 11, 2019.
A performer twirls hats in Cathedral Square Park during Bastille Days in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday, July 11, 2019.

Bastille Days food, activities and entertainment

Bastille Days hosts over 30 local restaurants and vendors selling French-inspired goods, food, wine and other alcoholic beverages. Returners include Beignets Fran?ais, Lake Park Bistro, Lagniappe Brasserie, Crème & Crepe Café and Crawdaddy's on Greenfield.

Five live music and entertainment stages are located throughout the festival, boasting a lineup of over 60 acts. Popular performers include Madame Gigi's Outrageous French Can-Can Dancers, Tamarind Tribal Belly Dancers, Professor Pinkerton's Irreverent Orchestra, the third annual "This Is It! Drag Show" and the Milwaukee Ballet. Roaming street performers will also be in attendance.

Fest-goers can visit with fortune tellers and henna artists, explore the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist and check out the French Bulldog kissing booth. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is Bastille Days' "Kids Day," featuring a beignet breakfast, the Kohl's Art Studio, French lessons with the Milwaukee French Immersion School and a kid-centered entertainment lineup.

Click here for the complete music and entertainment schedule.

Children watch as a performer attempts to walk across glass bottles in Cathedral Square Park during Bastille Days in Milwaukee, Wis. on Thursday, July 11, 2019.
Children watch as a performer attempts to walk across glass bottles in Cathedral Square Park during Bastille Days in Milwaukee, Wis. on Thursday, July 11, 2019.

Bastille Days road closures

East Kilbourn Avenue from North Jackson Street to North Milwaukee Street will be closed from 10 a.m. on Monday, July 8, until 8 p.m. on Monday, July 15, for the Bastille Days festival.

The following roads will be closed from 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 9, until 6 a.m. on Monday, July 15, for Bastille Days:

  • East Kilbourn Avenue from North Jackson Street to North Van Buren Street

  • North Jefferson Street from East Wells Street to East Kilbourn Avenue

  • North Milwaukee Street from East Kilbourn Avenue to East State Street

  • East Wells Street from North Milwaukee Street to North Van Buren Street

  • North Jackson Street from East Wells Street to East State Street

The following roads will be closed from 8 p.m. until at least 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, to accommodate the Storm the Bastille 5K:

  • North Broadway from East Menomonee Street to East Juneau Avenue

  • East Menomonee Street from North Broadway to North Milwaukee Street

  • North Milwaukee Street from East Menomonee Street to East Wells Street

  • East Mason Street from North Milwaukee Street to North Jefferson Street

  • North Jefferson Street from East Wisconsin Avenue to East Wells Street

  • East Wisconsin Avenue from North Jefferson Avenue to North Prospect Avenue

  • North Prospect Avenue from East Wisconsin Avenue to East State Street

  • East State Street from North Prospect Avenue to North Jackson Street

  • North Jackson Street from East State Street to East Juneau Avenue

  • East Juneau Avenue from North Jackson Street to North Broadway

  • North Astor Street from East Kilbourn Avenue to East State Street

Bastille Days parking

Attendees can purchase parking at the BMO Tower, 771 N. Broadway, located a block from the festival. There are only 700 spots in the garage, so you are encouraged to arrive early.

The Milwaukee streetcar, known as The Hop, travels on East St. Paul Avenue, turning north on North Water Street.
The Milwaukee streetcar, known as The Hop, travels on East St. Paul Avenue, turning north on North Water Street.

How to get to Bastille Days via The Hop

The Hop streetcar's M-Line can bring festival attendees right to Cathedral Square Park; just get off at the Cathedral Square stop. The Hop will provide extended service until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday to accommodate fest-goers, with an additional car running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday.

The Hop will briefly suspend service on Thursday from 9 to 10:30 p.m. due to the 5K run; service will resume at 10:30 p.m. and continue until midnight.

For more information about Hop routes and schedules, visit: thehopmke.com/interactive-map.

More information about Bastille Days 2024

For more information about Bastille Days, visit: easttown.com/bastille-days.

For more information about the Storm the Bastille 5K and to register for the race, visit: runsignup.com/Race/WI/Milwaukee/StormtheBastille5k.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about Bastille Days 2024, Storm the Bastille in Milwaukee

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