milomingo, Flickr CC
Bastille Days will return to Cathedral Square Park for their 37th annual festival from July 12-15, but will have a slightly different footprint. The modified boundaries were announced at the East Town Association’s annual meeting on Jan. 24, in anticipation of the streetcar’s testing phase, which will happen during the festival.
“Over the last year, we’ve been working closely with city officials on a revised layout that will complement streetcar service and minimize impacts to neighboring businesses,” Kim Morris, executive director of the East Town Association said in a press release. “Our new footprint keeps Bastille Days anchored in the hub of our neighborhood and provides visitors with better accessibility.”
Most noticeable to festivalgoers will be the movement of the main festival strip to Wells St. (from Kilbourn Ave.). The festival’s popular Eiffel Tower will move south by 100 feet, into the north end of Cathedral Square Park. Kilbourn Avenue will still be utilized, but pedestrian use will be scaled back.
The run route for the 2018 Storm the Bastille will not change under the new plan. The start and finish line will remain on Jefferson St. between Wells and Mason streets.
A graphic showing the new Bastille Days layout.
