Follow the Sounds of the Accordion to Bastille Day Festivities

Cheering on a pack of poodles, some of them with incredibly posh haircuts, as they sassily strut through Santa Barbara in the middle of July? It's become a lively rite of summer for California-based Francophiles.

For the American Riviera has long been the party-fun place to pay homage to Bastille Day, the celebratory "Fête Nationale" of France.

But the July 14 holiday will not be observed at the Santa Barbara French Festival in 2022, meaning the poodles (and other fancily attired pups) will parade again in 2023, when the fest returns after a hiatus.

Still, there are ways to find your favorite French foods, and the quintessential music of the Left Bank, around Southern California on the ebullient occasion.

Monsieur Marcel Gourmet Market & Restaurant at the Original Farmers Market will be summoning the sweet sound of the bellows with a live accordionist from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and again from 5 to 8 o'clock. Traditional quiches, a tantalizing French onion soup, and hearty fare like Boeuf Bourguignon are all on the menu.

July 14 is also the first day of the famous public market's three-day anniversary celebration, with specials and other festive touches abounding.

Not too far to the west, at the Beverly Center?

Can-can dancers and jazz musicians will perform on the shopping center's 8th level at 4 o'clock and again at 5:30. Look also for a pop-up photo booth in the Grand Court, and tasty samples at Pitchoun Bakery.

Los Angeles has several French-style eateries, from the new Velverie Café and Teahouse in Beverly Hills, where Bastille Day will be celebrated from 7:30 to 8 p.m. with complimentary cocktails and canapes, to longtime treasures like Figaro Bistrot on Vermont Avenue, to markets that feel positively Provençal in spirit, like Julienne in San Marino.

Find your France-in-LA moment, and perhaps a perfectly composed crepe or decadent pastry, on July 14.