The Franschhoek Bastille Festival is one of the most popular events held in this French Huguenot village, and this weekend (11 and 12 July) Franschhoek will be decked in red, white, and blue to celebrate its French roots. Even a mini Eiffel Tower is to bring Paris to Franschhoek this year!
The Franschhoek Bastille Festival Marquee will be set up next to the Franschhoek Huguenot Monument, with parking nearby. A number of Franschhoek restaurants will offer their cuisine, and Chef Marcus Frémont from the Seychelles will be flown in to cook Creole dishes as part of a French cultural exchange. Franschhoek wine estates will offer their wines to taste.
The Franschhoek Bastille Festival Food & Wine Hall will offer wine tastings as well as gourmet food to buy in the Town Hall. Entrance costs R120, which includes a tasting glass and tasting coupons.
The Franschhoek Bastille Festival Market @ BICCCS will be a central marketplace at which one can buy artisanal produce from the Winelands, including chocolates, olives, honey, cheese, artisanal breads, olive oil, and more. There is no entrance fee.
Visitors to the Franschhoek Bastille Festival are encouraged to dress in red, white, and blue, and to don a beret in one of these colour, which will be for sale in the village. Additional activities one can see and participate in are the Franschhoek Boules Tournament, the Delta Valley Entertainers, and the Porcupine Ridge Barrel Rolling Competition.
POSTSCRIPT 10/7: The wine estates in the Marquee are the following: Dieu Donne, Rickety Bridge, Vrede en Lust, Morena, Rupert & Rothschild, Allee Bleue, Plaisir de Merle, Leopard’s Leap, Glenwood, Holden Manz, Grande Provence, La Couronne, Anthonij Rupert Wyne, Backsberg, Solms-Delta, Boekenhoutskloof, Boschendal, Haute Cabriere, and Moresôn. The Franschhoek restaurants which will be in the Marquee are Bread & Wine, Foliage, Paulina’s @ Rickety Bridge, Reuben’s, Haute Cabriere, The Restaurant at Grande Provence, Terra del Capo, Backsberg, L’Ermitage, Ryan’s Kitchen, The Kitchen at Holden Manz, and BICCCS.
Franschhoek Bastille Festival, Huguenot Road, Franschhoek. 11 and 12 July. Tel (021) 876-3603. www.franschhoekbastille.co.za Tickets for Franschhoek Bastille Festival Food & Wine Marquee R200 from www.webtickets.co.za Twitter: Franschhoek_SA