Five highlights of the Bastille Festival in Franschhoek

You say you want a revolution… Well, you can have wine and sunshine at the Bastille Festival. That’s hard to beat.

Highlights of the Bastille Festival in Franschhoek

South Africans are navel-gazers. When it comes to our own independence, we tend towards hand-wringing and soul-searching. Have we honoured the legacy of the struggle? Where are we going, as a nation, and who have we left behind? What would Albertina Sisulu think about e-tolls? It’s all very complicated. That’s why we’re so enthusiastic about other countries’ independence, where we can just focus on the important stuff, like drinking.

1. It’s a great excuse for wearing a beret

Bastille festivities, Franschhoek. Photo by Teagan Cunniffe.

So far as hats go, berets suit everyone. Walking the streets of Franschhoek during the Bastille festival, you’d think that every beret in the Western Cape had migrated here, dragging people along beneath them. The original storming of the Bastille wasn’t entirely forgotten – there were a few revolutionaries wearing red berets of a more “EFF” style.

2. Wine

Lamb croquettes and flowing wine. Photo by Teagan Cunniffe

Wine, delicious wine! R200 gets you a ticket to the festival, and 6 tasting coupons. (Ahem – that’s really all you need. Unless you are very serious about your wine-tasting, in which case you’ll need to buy a bottle and taxi-fare.) For the food stakes, there was everything from delicious-looking cheese boards to profiteroles.

3. Well, duh. It’s in Franschhoek.

Some folks were happy to just sit and watch the madness pass by. Photo by Teagan Cunniffe.

Franschhoek is one of those places that foreigners squeal about (the mountains! the wine! Tres jolie!) and Capetonians prefer to think fond thoughts about from time to time. (If you need some encouragement, check out these 10 quirky things to do in Franschhoek.) I don’t spend enough time in this pretty little town, and I doubt you do either. Just wandering along the main street, in a throng of happy, dancing people, was a lovely experience. This isn’t Bastille-specific though, so have a look at their website for the next festival.

4. Barrel-rolling competitions

Barrell-rolling competitions are fierce in the winelands. Photo by Teagan Cunniffe

You could try your hand at barrel-rolling, if you think you’re hard enough. (Hint: you aren’t.)

5. France doesn’t always mean “the mainland”

Not all of the French influence came from the mainland. Photo by Teagan Cunniffe

Being freshly back from Reunion Island, my thoughts about French history are definitely tuned to an African frequency. There is so much of France woven into the fabric of our continent – for better or worse – and I loved that this was acknowledged by the inclusion of these beautiful Sega dancers, from Mauritius. There’s more to being French than smoking in Paris.

Check out these awesome photos below:

Anyone can be French, really. It’s a matter of enthusiasm. Photo by Teagan Cunniffe

Old-school fashion, meet social media. Photo by Teagan Cunniffe

Brass at Bastille. Photo by Teagan Cunniffe

Napoleon wasn’t actually involved with the storming of the Bastille. But don’t tell him that. Photo by Teagan Cunniffe.

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