Bastille Days, Milwaukee's popular French festival and one of the nation's largest French-themed celebrations, returns to Downtown Milwaukee's Cathedral Square Park, July 12-15, 2012.

For the first time, Bastille Days will include Mardi Gras Friday featuring a discounted happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. with specially themed drinks, entertainment, impromptu parades throughout the night, a New Orleans trip giveaway and thousands of beads.

Bastille Days is a free, four-day bash attracts over 250,000 visitors annually who enjoy live music, an international marketplace, chef and wine demos, French and Cajun cuisine, roaming busker entertainment and a signature 43-foot Eiffel Tower replica offering hourly light shows.

Go here for the music lineup as it becomes available.