From berets to bonjours, Cambridge went a bit French for the day on Bastille Day.
What a great celebration of Cambridge's sister city connection with Le Quesnoy on Bastille Day and through the July school holidays - there were things for kids & adults to do!
Cambridge’s annual celebration of Bastille Day is all about having a mid-winter French-themed day, and a way for Cambridge to celebrate its sister city connection with Le Quesnoy in France. The Cambridge Le Quesnoy Friendship Association teamed up with the Cambridge Museum, iSITE, Library, shops, cafés and restaurants, with some of the activities extending throughout the school holidays.
The Cambridge Museum played host to an Eiffel Tower Lego Challenge. Elizabeth Harvey, the Cambridge Museum Communications Officer, said "We've been delighted by the number of families joining us to celebrate the Cambridge Le Quesnoy friendship during the holidays. The creativity shown during our Eiffel Tower Lego challenge has been monumental. You'd need to stack thirteen Cambridge water towers on top of one another to reach the same height as the Eiffel Tower, but that's not stopped our Lego builders. Some of the towers built in the Museum reach nearly two metres with the French flag on top!"
Each Lego tower was photographed, with a chance for a youngster to win a prize. Children were also invited to write a postcard to children in Le Quesnoy. All through the school holidays they could pick up a postcard for free from the Cambridge Museum, Library or i-SITE. The Cambridge Le Quesnoy Friendship Association will package up all the postcards and send them to Chevray Primary School in Le Quesnoy. One family who have been really excited to write the postcards are Lucy Cook and her daughters. They had visited Le Quesnoy on a family trip three years ago and loved the idea of reaching out to their sister town again.
Alana MacKay, Chair of the Cambridge Le Quesnoy Friendship Association said, “We want our sister city connection with Le Quesnoy to be for all ages. By partnering with Chevray School, children in both towns can exchange postcards.”
Shopping and food also had a French flavour in Cambridge for Bastille Day. Gabriels, Madisons Fashions, Mavis and Mick Shoes, New World, Dante’s Fine Foods and Over the Moon Deli were some of the shops with windows and staff dressed with French flair. The menus at cafes and restaurants were also in theme, including Absolute Coffee House, The Deli on the Corner, Panache, Que Bar, Tivoli Cinema and Boatshed Karapiro.