The stars have aligned for La Fête de Marquette à La Rue Dickinson and a truly star- studded musical lineup will be arrayed at the intersection of E. Washington Ave and South Dickinson St. Madison, WI. In its fifth year the free music event, which attracts thousands, celebrates French culture and benefits the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, will be held July 8 - 11th. The French-themed event occurs on or near Bastille Day, the French national holiday. It’s hard to recall any Madison music event that could boast a more spectacular or more diverse cast of musical characters. Marcia Ball, Sonny Landreth and Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are the heavy hitters from Louisiana. While Dobet Gnahore, Boukman Eksperyans and Samba Mapangala are some of the global celebrities set to converge on our fair city. Musicians from throughout the French-speaking world including Africa, Canada, France, and Haiti will perform throughout the weekend. Artists with roots in the New Orleans, Cajun and Zydeco traditions will again perform primarily on Sunday, Le Jour de Louisiane See the artists and performance times attached for more details. To complement this stellar French World musical lineup there will be incredible food and drink from a host of vendors including—Madison Sourdough, Baraka’s, Lao Laan-Xang, Jamerica, Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream and many more.

The Willy Street Co-Op, the event’s major sponsor, kicks off the celebration with its annual membership meeting Thursday evening, July 8th, where Brooklyn, NY's talented Les Sans Culottes, Paris-based Laura Llorens, and Jeffrey Broussard & The Creole Cowboys from Lafayette, LA will play for all attendees. Non-members are welcome. They may become a Co-op member at the event for a price less than the cost of the evening’s giveaways. One of the festival highlights will be the Sunday morning Acoustic Café Breakfast with a live stage show hosted by 105.5 Triple M’s Jonathan Suttin and Kitty Dunn, July 11. The Café runs from 9 am to 11:45 am and will feature scintillating acoustic performances by Prince Edward & Magdelene Island based Vishten and Louisiana’s Red Stick Ramblers. A full wait-staffed breakfast will also be served.

A gigantic La Fete Flea Market has been added this year as an additional benefit for the Wil-Mar Center and will compliment the return of the Great Festival Auction. This year’s silent auction will feature dozens of items found in a family rec room. Heartland Credit Union will sponsor the annual La Fete Connects Raffle. The grand prize is a trip to Paris (or anywhere else a $2500 travel voucher will get you) and $500 in spending money. Additional raffle prizes including season tickets to The Wisconsin Union Theater will also be drawn.

New attractions include a vintage 1930s era Ferris wheel, in addition to children’s area with games and face painting staffed by Madison area French scholars, and the largest dance floor of any free outdoor festival in Madison.

La Fête’s music director, Bob Queen, claims this year will trump all previous years in terms of quality, quantity and diversity of musical acts. “We are excited to have groups like Les Saltimbanks from Calais, France, The Occidental Brothers Dance Band International featuring Samba Mapangala from Congo, Dobet Gnahoré of Ivory Coast & Paris, Vishten of Prince Edward & Magdelene Islands), and Boukan Eksperyans from Haiti. These are in addition to the sensational Louisiana groups we all know and love like Joe Hall and The Louisiana Cane Cutters of Arnaudville, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue from N’awlins, Lafayette guitar dynamo Mr. Sonny Landreth, and big easy power house -- direct from Austin, Texas -- Ms. Marcia Ball.”

A detailed schedule and descriptions of all performers may be found at http://www.wil-mar.org. La Fete de Marquette is a rain or shine event as thousands of square feet of tents provide cover for artists and visitors alike.

To keep this an admission-free event, patrons are encouraged to bring camp chairs and leave the coolers at home AS A NO CARRY-IN POLICY WILL BE ENFORCED. Event proceeds will benefit the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center programs. To find out more, please contact Gary Kallas at Wil-Mar at (608) 257 - 4576