Bastille Day French Festival Inc. recently held its Annual General Meeting and elected a new President, Dr Jane Gilmour, while Elisabeth Kerdelhue remains Vice President, Catherine Cardinet, Secretary and Olivier Deschang, Treasurer.

The Association which encompasses most of the Australian French and Francophone Associations in Victoria aims to organise and promote a French Festival around the National French Day. The committee has already started the organisation of the 2018 edition of the Bastille Day French Festival by appointing a new Project Manager, Jo Bertrand, and a new Coordinator, Audrey Marande.

Jo Bertrand, Jane Gilmour, Audrey Marande – the new team of the Bastille Day Festival 2018!

The Project Manager of the 2017 edition, Charlotte Diethelm, sadly leaves Australia in a couple of months and will be greatly missed. Charlotte was a passionate member of the French community: she founded Melbourne Accueil back in 2012, and with the help of the very efficient Ann-Elisabeth Brodbeck, she organised fun events under that umbrella (we all remember the Melbourne Accueil’s White Night as well as the Coq’s BBQ organised in collaboration with another French Association, UFE). We will miss Charlotte but wish her the best of luck in her new endeavours !

Chloe Ginisty, Coordinator, and Charlotte Diethelm, Project Manager – Bastille Day Festival 2017

Michel Richard, Charlotte Diethelm, Chloe Ginisty and Ann-Elizabeth Brodbeck – opening of the Bastille Day Festival 2017

We are looking forward to discovering the program that the Bastille Day French Festival team will concoct for 2018 !