Orlando’s Audubon Park Garden District, a nonprofit economic development and community revitalization organization, held its annual fund-raiser on Saturday. In an effort to separate the event from other fund-raisers in town, organizers adopted the French holiday of Bastille Day, which recognizes the storming of the Bastille prison and national uprising, as the day’s theme for the second year in a row and attracted 750 people—nearly four times last year’s attendance.
“We’ve done a better job with community outreach this year through local meetup groups, and we once again reached out to the French community and clubs,” said event coordinator Jennifer Marvel, who added planning for the event began a year ago, 11 months earlier than last year.
The committee also lengthened the festival from three to eight hours and expanded its local footprint to include Lafayette Park, which hosted a French market with wine and art vendors as well as games of pétanque, similar to bocce.
Beginning at 2 p.m., jugglers, musicians, and costumed performers entertained in the streets. A Marie Antoinette impersonator served as mistress of ceremonies on the outdoor Moulin Rouge stage, where competitions like the Parisian Waiters Race, a staple of Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, and the Pretend Poodles Parade, a costumed pet competition, took place later in the evening.
While access to the streets and outdoor entertainment was free, certain activities like the French wine and Champagne tastings and participating in the competitions required fees of $5 to $10.
The festivities wrapped up around 10 p.m.
