Vive la France (Just Not in the Women's World Cup)

France's women's soccer team suffered a tough 3-1 defeat to the US Wednesday in the FIFA Women's World Cup. The defeat must be made more bitter when you consider that July 14 is Bastille Day, France's equivalent of Independence Day. To find out more, check out the Five Things You Need to Know Today:

1. You need to know French: And what better day to learn than Bastille Day? The offers elementary French lessons through songs and stories Thursday at 10 a.m.
2. You need to know about the new Harry Potter movie: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” opens tonight at 12:01 a.m. (technically Friday, but if you arrive at the theater on Friday you’ll probably be out of luck.) .
3. You need to know about chess: The hosts a chess tournament at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, open to all levels of expertise.
4. You need to know about township business: The Chatham Township Committee meets Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the .
5. You need to know about this day in history: On July 14, 1789, Parisians stormed the Bastille prison and started the French Revolution. In 2002, French President Jacques Chirac survived an assassination attempt by Maxime Brunerie, who had a rifle hidden in a guitar case.

For other information worth knowing, see the Chatham Patch events calendar and announcements section—and if you've got something the community should know, don't forget to make a post of your own in one or both of those site sections.