Bastille Day
Eastern State Penitentiary
2124 Fairmount Ave.
(215) 236-5111
www.easternstate.org/
specialevents/bastille.php
You may have gotten your firework fix last Saturday, but this weekend, a different red, white and blue flag will be flying in Philly. Next week, France celebrates le quatorze juillet. In case you don’t remember from high school European history, that’s the date of a little fracas we like to call the storming of the Bastille. Those of us stateside will also be celebrating the French national holiday, albeit a few days early. Cities across the U.S. have adopted the chance to revel in another country’s merriment, and our very own City of Brotherly Love is no exception — needless to say, Ben Franklin would be proud.
Starting today, the Eastern State Penitentiary, self-proclaimed as “Philadelphia’s own Bastille,” will host “Fairmount French Fling Weekend.” Le weekend francais will kick off tonight at 7:00 p.m. with the Fairmount French Fling Bar Crawl. The itinerary includes bars around Fairmount, like The Belgian Cafe, as well as Rembrandt’s Restaurant, which will feature a French menu fit for the Sun King.
The festivities continue Friday, with French-themed food and drink specials at various Fairmount haunts like the London Grill and Jack’s Firehouse. Friday evening at 8:00 p.m., check out the pseudo-French screenings of Pepe LePew Cartoons and the Aristocats on the lawn behind the Eastern State Penitentiary.
The true hullaballoo takes place on Saturday, when activities abound at the Penitentiary starting at 2:00 p.m. Take a tour of the “Bastille” and hit up the slew of tents vending French fare. Just be sure to arrive by 5:30 p.m., when a reenactment of the storming will feature a fully-adorned Marie Antoinette yelling, “let them east Tastykake!” (yeah, we don’t really get it either, just roll with it) and a slew of French peasants dragging her to the guillotine. The powerful slicing abilities of the infamous machine will be displayed on a watemelon — equal parts creepy and delicious. The aforementioned Fairmount restaurants will host dinner (reservations for which are a must) and after-parties on Saturday to celebrate la fete all night long.
