Bastille Day fun from France, all summer long
Bastille Day is coming and New Yorkers will get to experience something new this year: rare, museum-quality carnival rides from France that will be inhabiting the shores of Governors Island!
Fête Paradiso, the world’s first festival of vintage, artisan-crafted French carnival rides and carousels, will make its American debut Bastille Weekend, July 13-14, on the island. Donated courtesy of Francis Staub and Regis Masclet’s collections, the late 19th and early 20th century attractions include games, carousels, flying swings, and a pipe organ.
A late 19th century bicycle carousel is one of the only two in the world that were created in Paris to encourage the use of what was then the new mode of transportation – the bicycle. The only other bicycle carousel can be seen in the feature film “Midnight in Paris.”