IN FOCUS – Storm the Bastille

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Storm the Bastille

AS THE SUN SET ON JULY 14, the streets of downtown Milwaukee were abuzz with the sound of feet on pavement. On this night each year, thousands of people lace up their running shoes and jog through East Town and the Third Ward, in celebration of the Parisian revolutionaries who stormed the Bastille prison in 1789, sparking the French Revolution.

After a two-year hiatus amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Milwaukee’s Storm the Bastille 5K Run/Walk was back in-person this year, bringing an estimated 2,500 to 3,500 runners to kick off the city’s annual Bastille Days festival in Cathedral Square Park.

“We are beyond thrilled to have Bastille Days and Storm the Bastille back after two years of absence,” said Eddie Sturkey, interim executive director of the East Town Association.

With live entertainment, French cuisine and an international marketplace, this year’s four-day festival drew about 150,000 visitors to downtown Milwaukee. n