Bastille Day Festival »
On July 14th, 1789, seven prisoners (yes, just seven!) were freed from the French prison called The Bastille. I'm sure it was La Bastille or Le Bastille or something - I'm not trying to offend anyone here. Anyway, this event marked the beginning of the French Revolution, and the prison was a symbol of the power of Louis XVI, so each year on this day, the French celebrate the day, much as Americans celebrate July 4th.
In Charlotte, the French-American Chamber of Commerce puts on a festival celebrating this event. Previously - or at least last year - this event was held in the Wachovia Plaza uptown, which is certainly a nice place, but you have to wonder what happened, as this year's event (the 7th, from what I can find, it moved to a small enclosed space in the North Davidson Arts District. Not a good choice.
Now I don't really have anything against NoDa. It's not my cup of tea, but the move wasn't a good one.
I understand that Marguerite's French Bakery is there (though I have to say, I wasn't really impressed with the place). Perhaps they donated a lot of money to the cause or something.
There was also a small deli, that reminded me a bit of being in New York City - I don't really know if it had anything to do with the festival or not (I suspect not, and just gained from being one of the two places open for business at the time).
As to the actual festival, there wasn't much to it.
The bakery, the deli, and an inner "courtyard", if you could call it that, where a few tables were lined up selling French-themed food items. There were some sandwiches, some wines, some cheeses, and I can't say that I recall anything else. I think I remember seeing a mime. Then they had some arrows on the floor, and you were supposed to follow the path along one side, around, and back the other.
This was really important because with the tables there, there was not a lot of room. As far as festivals go, this was one of the weaker ones I've seen. I know a lot of people like the Greek Festival uptown, and I don't really get that one either - but at least they have some decent food, not overpriced appetizers and nowhere to move.
To make matters worse, you had to fight not only for elbow room inside the cramped quarters, but there was only one way in and one way out, but a very small parking lot outside, watched over constantly by police officers, as if you dared to park in the wrong spot, you'd be towed. I wasn't too worried - there was no way a tow truck could get into that place to get anyone out.
All-in-all, one of the worst. At least they didn't charge admission. Did anyone else see this farce?
