Bastille Day Festival at Eastern State Penitentiary

Dates:
July 14 – 17, 2011

The Experience

Grab a pitchfork and storm the walls! Whether you’re a revolutionary or a royalist, there’s something for you during the weekend celebration of all things French leading up to the bombastic Bastille Day Festival at the Eastern State Penitentiary.

The annual celebration has become one of Philadelphia’s most popular summertime events, attracting thousands of visitors each year into the massive shadow of the penitentiary’s main wall to commemorate the storming of the Bastille by French revolutionaries.

The main event of year’s festival takes place on Saturday, July 16 when dozens of French revolutionaries, armed with muskets and cannon, and singing “La Marseillaise,” storm the grim walls of “the Bastille” (Eastern State Penitentiary) and drag Marie Antoinette to a real, functioning guillotine, built for the occasion. As Antoinette yells, “Let them eat Tastykake!”, a flurry of 2,000 Tastykakes will be flung from the prison’s towers.

The block party in front of the prison commences at 5:30 and lasts into the night.

After the storming, the party spills into the charming neighborhood of Fairmount, as restaurants and bars host wonderful French dinner specials and alfresco celebrations throughout the evening.

More Bastille Day Events

The Bastille Day celebration continues in Fairmount all weekend with bar crawls, dinner specials and a French-themed brunch.

Thursday, July 14 – French Fling Bar Crawl, featuring Kronenbourg 1664
Friday, July 15 – Fairmount Goes French (movie screening, drinks, and dinner specials)
Saturday, July 16 – Bastille Day Festival and the Storming of the Bastille
Sunday, July 17 – French Champagne Brunch

Insider Tip

The 11-acre Eastern State Penitentiary is also the site of art exhibits, theater performances and other special events. Come early and take a tour — or stay late and take a 25-minute evening tour following the reenactment.

Flickr Slideshows

To get a preview of the scene at Eastern State Penitentiary on Bastille Day, check out these great slideshows on Flickr by Flickr users icky and dragonballyee.