Dîner en Blanc, the elegant flash mob feast, is set to take place in San Diego for the first time. On October 18, a thousand people are expected to gather at a secret iconic location in San Diego for the viral event.
Le Dîner en Blanc is an al fresco dinner party that is organized through word of mouth and social media. The location is never revealed until the day of the event. Even the time of the event is a secret. Invited guests are given certain meeting points, where they'll arrive at and then be taken by bus to the secret dining location.
The event takes on the flash mob idea, but instead of a dance, it's an organized dinner in a public spot. Guests must wear all white and bring their own white tables and chairs and even food. The tables are decorated with candelabras, candles and giant flower arrangements while guests eat off of fine china and polished silverware and drink from crystal glasses.
The Dîner en Blanc was started in Paris by a group of friends in 1988. Now, Paris' Dîner en Blanc brings in 15,000 people. It has been hosted at landmark spots like the Eiffel Tower site, the Château de Versailles, by the Louvre Pyramid and more.
The event, which is held in over 20 cities across five continents, first came to America in 2011 in New York City. This year, the event is held in nine U.S. cities. On Aug. 20, New York's second Dîner en Blanc was held at Lincoln Center and was attended by over 3,000 guests.
Now, San Diego will get its first all-white picnic. The event is limited to 1,000 guests. They were able to purchase tickets for about $50 per couple. Many will bring their own homemade food, but other may opt for a pre-paid picnic basket by Festivities Catering. Baskets contain things like beef tenderloin, baguettes and dried fruit and range from $43 to $63. Each basket is made to feed two people.
There was a similar picnic event in May called Le Diner a San Diego in which some people showed up at the waterfront Embarcadero. The location was announced three hours before and not every wore white.
The event on October 18 is the first official Diner en Blanc in the city and it is being hosted by H Events.
"I think Dîner en Blanc really encourages people to do something different, to interact," organizer Meredith Bell at H Events told UT San Diego. "And we live in a very active city that has a good demographic that's food motivated."
According to the event's Facebook page, there will be an after party hosted by the Grant Grill at the US Grant Hotel. There will be half price cocktails deals on signature drinks after 10p.m. including a special Diner en Blanc drink called Fleur du Vin.
So far, the feasts have taken place in New York, Paris, Lyon, Amsterdam, Munich, Zürich, Berlin, Toronto, Quebec, Milano, Montreal and several other U.S. cities. Several other cities across the United States and the world will hold their feasts all the way to November.
