“Prise de la Bastille” by Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houel. (Via Wikipedia)
Tomorrow, it is the duty of Francophiles everywhere to rise up and make chaos. Porquois, you ask? It’s Bastille Day, of course.
L’Hexagone‘s influence on D.C. is irrefutable. Tributes to Revolutionary War heroes like the Marquis de La Fayette abound. And, then there’s our street system. Whether you love or hate the L’Enfant Plan, its network of a Cartesian grid overlaid with traffic circles is undeniably Gallic.
And though the young United States was mostly neutral toward the French Revolution, the storming of the notorious Parisian prison and all that ensued—royal beheadings, Napoleonic wars, la nouvelle vague—is cause for much celebration in contemporary Washington. So here are a few ways to party like a sans-culotte.
If you’re more of a bourgeois revolutionary, the Embassy of France gets things going early tonight, with a chic party celebrating the “Fragrances and Flavors of France.” Tickets go for $100 and $150 for the soiree beginning tonight at 7 p.m. at the embassy, located at La Maison Française at 4101 Reservoir Road NW.
The egalitarian fun begins tomorrow. We’d be remiss if we didn’t lead off with L’Enfant Cafe and Bar’s annual Bastille Day Bash, featuring, of course, the French Maid Relay Race down 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan. The party starts at 3 p.m. and, for a $5 cover charge, includes access to a beer garden, a lineup of food trucks, DJ sets and a masquerade ball. The relay race takes place at 6 p.m.
The French bakery chain PAUL also features a relay race, this one using baguettes as batons. This one’s also a bit more family friendly, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at PAUL’s downtown location 801 Pennsylvania Avenue NW with a kids’ contest, followed by an adults’ race in which the contestants compete for gift cards.
And there’s yet another race happening tomorrow, albeit one in which a French maid get-up is not recommended. The D.C. Road Runners club is hosting a 4-mile race in Georgetown, covering a quick stretch of the Capital Crescent Trail. Entry is free for members, $5 for non-members. Begins 7 p.m., but registration must be completed online by tomorrow at 3 p.m.
Finally, after all that running, it’ll just be time to party like it’s 1789. As always, the best fête is going down at Bistrot du Coin (1738 Connecticut Avenue NW) in Dupont Circle. Come early for the $4 Ricard shots; stay late to dance on top of the zinc-plated bar.
To get you primed for tomorrow, here’s a little something to get you into l’espirit révolutionnaire:
