Soulard welcomes all to celebrate its unique French heritage for our Bastille Day parade; reject the monarchy, join the peasants (and Saint Boogie Brass Band!) and march with the mob.

About the Royals: The SBA is proud to select this year’s royalty, Nancy and Mark Lambert! Nancy and Mark have been residents of Soulard for 11 years, and have always enthusiastically volunteered and participated in neighborhood initiatives and events! The Soulard Business Association has been extremely grateful to Mark, in particular, for being our volunteer photographer! In return for their great service to our community, they are fit to be beheaded with all the appropriate trappings and fanfare!

Route and timing:

The parade begins at 4pm on Saturday, July 20 at the Soulard Market with a rousing call against the Royalty, who when sighted, shall be chased VERY slowly across the neighborhood. The parade will stop at several bourgeois businesses throughout Soulard, and end with a gathering of peasants to witness the end of the monarchy by guillotine in the center of Pontiac Square Park around 6pm.

Attending the Parade: The parade is best experienced on foot, which will be just a bit more than half a mile in length. Cold water will be available during the parade, but peasantry are welcome to bring their own refreshments. We recommend dressing for warm weather with as much French-ness as you can bring or wear (encouraged but not required). Golf carts may attend but will be kept to the back of the parade behind the band; trust us, it’s more fun on foot!

Soulard has been celebrating Bastille Day since 1987 (and possibly even before). A huge thanks to all the volunteers and participants – past and present – for highlighting the neighborhood’s unique French heritage.

Volunteers Needed: We need people willing to help guide our participants, our police escort, our band, and our many golf cart attendees through the streets. Specific assignments will be given during the parade, but all entail keeping everyone moving safely together from start to finish during the parade.