Bastille Day
Okay, so I had not heard about this before. But on Saturday, after a good hike at the Sourlands woods in Hillsborough (where I live), I had just gotten home and noticed a text from my girlfriend, who was still at work. She mentioned that one of her coworkers had said that Frenchtown holds annual Bastille Day celebrations. They were going to celebrate Bastille Day at Sunbeam Park in downtown Frenchtown.
Really, I thought? How had I not heard about this before? So, I look online, and saw, sure enough, that they were celebrating. I had not heard about it, nor knew much of anything about any connection between Frenchtown and anything that actually was really French, per se, much less specific to Bastille Day.
Still, any honoring of Bastille Day is welcome, because it is a rare treat in this country for this French national holiday to receive any kind of significant attention.
After the little bit of research, I suggested that we come on and let’s go check it out. She agreed, and although she seemed to take forever to get back from work, nevertheless we went, even though it was pushing 4:30, and we would not get there until after 5pm for celebrations that were only to go from 12pm until 7pm.
It was a hot and sunny day, but the drive over there was beautiful. I had grown up in a part of New Jersey that most people outside of the state likely do not imagine when they think of the Garden State. There are foothills and woods aplenty, as well as lakes and streams that break this pristine landscape. Well, this, too, was another beautiful landscape that most people outside of the state do not imagine. There are farms and rural fields aplenty, giving views to lush green spaces and woods and some of the small, rolling green hills surrounding this part of the state. And it was a perfect day weatherwise to take the roughly 40 minute drive from Hillsborough to Frenchtown, which is right on the Delaware River, with Pennsylvania right across the river.
We parked in what we hoped was the downtown. I had spotted a couple of French flags, which is, of course, unusual for New Jersey, or pretty much any other town in the United States. But I figured that this must be the right place.
It was. We walked for a bit, and it seemed like each local business had something on their window to add to the French theme. There were tons of images of the Eiffel Tower, French flags inside of the shops as well. And there were images of the fleur-de-lys as well, with one shop having put up some of the old flag of France, with the three fleur-de-lys on a blue field, although anyone who is familiar with the French Revolution knows that that while most Americans identify this as a very French symbol, it is largely viewed as a symbol of the oppressive ancien régime in France itself.
There were French flags lining the entirety of the small downtown section, and we got to Sunbeam Park, the main hub of the Bastille Day festivities, which wound up being a tiny park right on the Delaware River, literally next to the Uhlerstown–Frenchtown Bridge connecting New Jersey with Pennsylvania. There were tables there by local businesses, and people were selling all sorts of stuff. One place was even selling French Revolution cockades, and so I went ahead and bought a couple of those, wearing one, and saving one for my son.
In truth, it was hardly really French themed at all. There were French flags everywhere, but I did not see anything for French food or anything else. The only thing French was the name of the town, and my guess is that they were trying to take advantage of their name to draw people by celebrating a French holiday.
Still, it was a cool town, and it was nice that they at least made an effort to try and do something special for a French holiday. My girlfriend and I ate at a nice restaurant that offered tables in a shady spot on their porch, overlooking the main road. We both enjoyed our meal, and it was a fun enough day. Again, not really a celebration of Bastille Day, or of France in general, but still a pleasant day nevertheless.
We actually crossed briefly into Pennsylvania, because it had appeared from the Jersey side that there was a town there. But there was not, it was just a large building that had given the impression from a distance of another downtown area of a small town. In fact, that was the only building nearby, but they did have a small little farm stand selling some fresh fruits and vegetables, and we got some delicious local strawberries.
Not a bad day in all!
Here are some pictures:
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