– The 250th anniversary - a French-American Celebration
– French in Motion - 10th year anniversary
– Closer explorations - 250,000 miles and less
– Claude Monet - 100th anniversary
– Solidarity Dinners - 5 years ago
– Les Expressions Françaises: "Trier sur le volet"
Bastille Day 2026, the 250th anniversary:
a French-American Celebration".
In the U.S.
The 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence celebrates the nation’s founding in 1776 and highlights the country’s ideals of liberty and democracy.
Bastille Day 2026, organized by the Comité Tricolore, under the theme "250th Anniversary: a French-American Celebration", will be held on July 10, 2026, at La Maison Française, Embassy of France in Washington, D.C.
The celebration will honor the friendship and deep historical ties between our two countries. 🇫🇷🇺🇸
This prestigious evening will welcome about 500 distinguished guests, diplomats, executives, and cultural leaders and will feature cuisine from some 20 leading chefs and restaurants, premium French wines, live music, and a charity silent auction supporting the philanthropic initiatives of the Comité Tricolore.
The 250th anniversary will be marked by major celebrations across the Washington, D.C. area, including special exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution, commemorative programs at the National Archives where the founding documents are preserved, and large public gatherings on the National Mall featuring concerts, fireworks, and historical reenactments.
Meanwhile in France in 1776
250 years ago, in 1776 France made a decisive and largely covert initial commitment that shaped the outcome of the war.
With King Louis XVI’s assent, Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, best known as the author of The Barber of Seville, played a crucial role in 1776 in preparing French support for the American cause by setting up a front company called Roderigue Hortalez and Company to secretly supply the American revolutionaries with weapons, ammunition, and other materials. This helped lay the groundwork for the formal Franco-American alliance that would follow.
That same year the young Marquis de Lafayette began planning his involvement, ultimately sailing to America in 1777 and becoming one of its most important supporters.
Beaumarchais’ play was later adapted to two major operas: Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.
Be part of the celebration
We are currently seeking auction donors and sponsors who would like to support this landmark event and become part of one of Washington’s most distinguished international celebrations. Whether through a donation to the silent auction or through sponsorship, your contribution will help advance the charitable mission of the Comité Tricolore while offering valuable visibility within an exceptional setting.
To find out about these opportunities, download the attached document
French in Motion: 10th Anniversary
Created in 2016, French in Motion is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a chapter in Washington DC that brings together a growing community of nearly 400 film and TV talents and professionals from both sides of the Atlantic to foster exchanges and collaborations between the US industry and French and European professionals.
Led by an executive board of seasoned industry executives and producers, French In Motion champions award-winning international co-productions in film and TV, including an Oscar nominated feature.
If you want to know more about French In Motion, click on the image to watch the video
Closer Explorations:
from 250,000 miles to just a few
Artemis II—the first crewed mission in NASA’s return-to-the-Moon program broke the record for the farthest humans have ever been from home: 250,000 miles! This is the "straight-line" distance from Earth to the spacecraft at its furthest point on April 6, 2026.
A new Museum in DC – National Geographic Museum
But you can start your own exploration right here on June 26th at the new National Geographic Museum, 1600 M Street NW Washington, D.C. 20036. The museum will be open every day from 9 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. this summer.
Experience the world like never before through museum exhibits and immersive experiences that reveal the wildlife, landscapes, communities and cultures that make up our incredible planet. Through innovative technology, immersive displays, iconic photography and artifacts, it brings you face to face with the bold Explorers who are changing the world.
Click here for more details on their exhibits.
The National Air and Space Museum: 50th anniversary
For its 50th anniversary the National Air and Space Museum is reopening more renovated galleries.
Thirteen new galleries are already open; on July 1st five new ones will be ready to visit.
- The Flight and the Arts Center explores how aviation and spaceflight have inspired art, music, and popular culture.
- The Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air features iconic WWII aircraft and tells the story of air combat and strategy during the war.
- The U.S. National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe highlights astronomy, telescopes, and how scientists study planets, stars, and galaxies.
- The RTX Living in the Space Age shows how space technology affects everyday life on Earth, from satellites to communications.
- The Textron How Things Fly offers hands-on exhibits explaining the physics of flight, including lift, thrust, and aerodynamics.
Claude Monet
100th anniversary of his death
- He was nearly blind when he painted his famous water lily paintings.
- - After cataract surgery, he could see what he had done. He kept some but destroyed or modified others, luckily not these that became his masterpieces.
- - He destroyed his own work, burned or slashed hundreds of his own paintings throughout his life.
- - He designed Giverny’s garden as a subject to paint not as a garden.
- - He was an obsessive cook who kept meticulous recipe notebooks.
- - Outdoors, he would paint several canvasses at the same time to catch the different shades of light minute by minute.
Solidarity Dinners 5 years ago
A little more than five years ago, we started our Solidarity Dinners. They became so successful that we have continued to this day to help bring our community of friends together and support our charitable mission.
Several of the most prestigious (and delicious) area restaurants have prepared special menus for us, with the price of the ticket including the price of the meal and a contribution to our charitable mission which goes entirely to our beneficiaries and is tax deductible.
Our next dinner is at Bastille Brasserie and Bar on April 29th at 6:30 PM
"A little bit of Paris in the heart of Alexandria VA"
Chefs Christophe & Michelle Poteaux’s award winning restaurant & bar, located in Old Town Alexandria, has continuously offered guests fresh takes on classic French cuisine, all within their quaint neighborhood brasserie. Their creations are rooted in the use of seasonal, locally sourced and farm fresh ingredients.
Since its opening in 2006, Bastille has garnered eight RAMMY nominations; Washingtonian Top 100 listing; Northern Virginia Magazine’s Top 50 Restaurant ranking; Voted Best French and Fine Dining by the readers of The Zebra for seven years straight and is an OpenTable Diners’ Choice Winner.
Click here to reserve a seat at the table! Sales end on April 25.
Les Expressions Françaises
Trier sur le Volet
To Handpick
The French expression "trier sur le volet" has a medieval origin.
In the Middle Ages, a "volet" was a small wooden board used for sorting beans or separate seeds or peas, retaining only the finest ones.
By gently shaking the grain “on the volet,” the best kernels could be separated from debris. Over time, it started evoking the metaphor for choosing only the finest elements and selecting them with great care.
