French restaurant and Uptown watering hole Barbette will host its 12th annual Bastille Day Block Party on July 13, celebrating French National Day in Minnesota style. The event will feature a lineup of local musicians including Hippo Campus, Black Diet, GRRRL PRTY, Nadine Dubois & Les Folies Risque, the Cloak Ox, Heiruspecs, and the Brass Messengers. Attendees can also wander a local artists' market and enjoy organic picnic foods as well as—natch—cold beverages. The party, emceed by Foxy Tann, is free of charge and will occur rain or shine from 3:00-10:00 p.m.

A portion of proceeds for the event will go to People Serving People, a Twin Cities charity dedicated to combatting homelessness. The organization runs a ten-story shelter in downtown Minneapolis, welcoming 99 homeless families per night. People Serving People focuses on family health and childhood development through education, healthy meals, tutoring, healthcare, and transportation accessed through the shelter. “Our ultimate goal is to permanently end a family’s homelessness with one visit to our shelter,” according to the organization's website.

While the event is less a French national celebration than a neighborhood picnic, advertising for the celebration does feature the tagline, “Cake Will Be Served,” a nod to Marie Antoinette. Following the success of the 2013 zero-waste block party, the event will again aim to generate no trash. Barbette will partner with Eureka recycling to achieve this goal, making sure that when there is cake, it is served on fully recyclable plates.

Ellie Fuqua is a freshman at Macalester College. She plans to double major in international studies and media and cultural studies, and hopes to pursue journalism as a career.