The 7th annual Brooklyn Bastille Day celebration took place yesterday on Smith St. in Cobble Hill and it was bigger and better than ever. Bastille Day, the French national holiday celebrated on July 14th overseas (and referred to as Fête Nationale in France, "National Celebration" commemorating the 1790 Fête de la Fédération) comes to Brooklyn every year in the form of a block party founded by Francophile Bette Stoltz, executive director of the South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation. It is the biggest Bastille Day celebration in the United States and in addition to French food, drinks, (bring on the Ricard and Lillet!) music, and a mock guillotine, the street is covered in 10 yards of sand donated by the Quadrozzi concrete company for the annual petanque tournament (petanque is like bocce ball but played in sand and with metal balls). Eighty teams competed this year! Also for the third year in a row, there was a skateboarding competition courtesy of the Homage skateboarding emporium at 151 Smith St. The event was sponsored by two of the fabulous French restaurants on Smith St., Bar Tabac and Robin de Bois, and Ricard. In case you missed it, I documented the festival with photos and video clips of skateboarders in action and some serious petanque players. Enjoy!
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