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Fortville Bastille Day was founded in 2009 by Six Feet Up's CEO Gabrielle Hendryx-Parker, who was originally looking for a way to share her native French traditions with her two children. It has now grown into Indiana's largest celebration of the French National Day with more than 2,000 visitors in 2012.

Bastille Day celebrates the start of the French Revolution when, on July 14, 1789, the people of Paris stormed the Bastille, a prison stronghold on the bank of the Seine river. Its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution, and it subsequently became an icon of the French Republic.

This year, on Saturday, July 14th, the event featured 5 bands including an authentic French singer, 3 marionette shows from Indianapolis-based Peewinkle's Puppet Studio, a beer and wine tasting, a petanque tournament, a lantern parade and a spectacular laser light show, to cite a few of the myriad of activities available to the public.

"Fortville Bastille Day has been a great cultural event often compared to Indianapolis' Greek and Irish Fests. People love learning about other countries' traditions and are thrilled when they can even take part in the festivities," declared Hendryx-Parker, hinting at the fabulous success of the signature lantern parade at dusk.

St. Vincent and atGeist.com were some of the most prominent organizations out of more than 20 sponsors, including the Alliance Francaise d'Indianapolis and The International Center.

Fortville's Bastille Day was relayed by multiple newspapers in the US, and even crossed the Atlantic to be prominently featured in "Le Bien Public" in Dijon, France.