Revolutionary Crawl Blends History And Hospitality In Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA ? Doylestown turned the clocks back to the late 1700s on
Saturday as a Revolutionary Pub Crawl made its way through the Bucks County Seat.

At noon, more than 50 crawlers gathered at Puck to lift a pint before embarking on the first ever Doylestown crawl, which took them to five local establishments where they learned about life during the Revolution while enjoying light fare, drinks and special music.

Before the crawlers left Puck, they heard from musician and poet Richard Jarboe who performed his song, ?New Jersey,? which details how the Revolutionary War turned at the Battle of Trenton and how the Garden State played an integral role in the American victory.

At Maxwells on Main, General George Washington, portrayed by Sam Davis, spoke to the gathering about the women of the Revolution, including Sybil Ludington, who saved Danbury, Conn., from being burned by the British. Ludington made a 40-mile ride on horseback to rally militia forces in defense of the city, according to Washington.

Washington also spoke of his mother, Mary Ball, who prevented a young George from joining the British Navy after soliciting advice from her brother. "If she had not written that letter, I would have become a tinker in the British Navy and probably would never have become a General in the Continental Army. My mother, I believe, truly saved America."

(Photos By Jeff Werner)

Inside a crowded PAG?s Wine Bar, Benjamin Franklin, portrayed by Rob Devitis, regaled the crawlers with life stories and told the gathering that every one of his ideas, institutions, and inventions were all done for the public good.

?Not one of them was for myself," he told the gathering "The lending library. The fire department. And the hospital. Not many know that I started the very first hospital in this country and it's still here today - Pennsylvania Hospital."

The crawl concluded with stops at Villa Capri and Chambers on Main for an After Party with live music and dancing to The Strange Brew Crew. At Villa Capri, Ryan Shafik, in a portrayal of Benedict Arnold, told the gathering he had been set up by the government. Arnold was branded a traitor for sharing military secrets with the British.

The first crawl was created by Marianne Rosato for the New Hope Winterfest as a way of keeping history alive while supporting and promoting local businesses. She now runs local crawls through her own marketing company with plans for future pub crawls coming soon to Morristown, Princeton, and Easton.

?Overall I think the event went really well. The restaurants were happy with everything and so were our ticket holders,? said Rosato. ?I hope that everyone enjoyed celebrating our great nation and have a greater understanding of the price that was paid for our freedoms and had fun
while experiencing some of Doylestown?s finest establishments.?