L’Hermione Reception and Recreation at Tall Ships Exhibition

A replica of the ship that carried the Marquis de Lafayette during Revolutionary War docked in Philadelphia this past weekend.

A replica of the 18th-century ship L’Hermione visited Penn’s Landing this past weekend as part of the Tall Ships traveling exhibition. The ship, a 216-foot-long, 1,260-ton replica of the French frigate that took the Marquis de Lafayette on his second journey to the United States during the Revolutionary War. Yann Cariou, captain of the French tall ship L’Hermione, welcomed Councilman Mark Squilla on board on Friday night for a cocktail party to celebrate the arrival of the ship in Philadelphia. Afterwards, there was a reception — including a small program — hosted by Moet & Chandon Imperial Champagne in the courtyard of City Tavern. Then it was inside for a re-enactment of a dinner that occurred on the voyage when it was docked in Philadelphia. The dinner was prepared by Chef Walter Staib. Staib is culinary ambassador to the voyage, and he had filmed a PBS special onboard the ship in June 2014 in Rochefort, France, in anticipation of this voyage. He is preparing a similar re-enactment dinner in Boston on July 11.

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HughE Dillon covers parties, events and more for Philadelphia magazine’s The Scene. You can follow him on Twitter at @iPhillyChitChat and visit his daily online social diary PhillyChitChat.com.