40th Bastille Days at Cathedral Square Park, 'classic Milwaukee'

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee's 40th Bastille Days officially opened Thursday night, July 13 in Cathedral Square Park, and organizers said they hope Harley-Davidson's 120th anniversary celebration will mean more guests at the popular street festival.

Berets, beignets and creme brulees were on display in downtown Milwaukee Thursday. So many said the food and fashion are just part of what makes Bastille Days special.

In a city known for festivals, sometimes the best place to set up is the street.

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"It's a free festival that happens in the middle of downtown Milwaukee," said Michael Sampson, Swarmm Events owner. "There's not many of these left."

For the 40th time, the East Town Association took a few city blocks halfway around the world for Bastille Days.

"It's like a great time to relax, have fun in Milwaukee and celebrate French culture," said Kara Walla.

Walla visited the festival for the first time.

"It's been a blast," she said. "The music has been great. I had a creme brulee. That was awesome. I also had a passion fruit margarita, which I don't think is very French, but I enjoyed it anyway."

No trip to France is complete without a taste of beignets.

"Our beignet is different," said Sara Thering with Crawdaddy's on Greenfield.

Thering said hers are the best the festival has to offer.

"They're a fluff of little heaven," said Thering.

"I take my runs very seriously, as you can see," said Martin Medina.

Medina was one of at least 3,000 planning to "Storm the Bastille" Thursday night. The popular 5K is one of the only nighttime races in the city, helping push the storied festival out of the starting blocks.

"It's just fun," said Medina. "I mean, it's classic Milwaukee – beer, food, some sort of ethnic fest, so yeah. It's just good times. It's what we do in Milwaukee."

Bastille Days runs until 11:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and closes at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 16.