Thousands of people dressed in white formal wear will lug tables and chairs through the city Thursday for the return of Le Dîner en Blanc.
The "chic picnic," at which attendees must wear white and bring their own food and supplies, will be Thursday evening at a public space that will revealed to ticket holders once they arrive at a specified meeting point and are led to the mystery spot. More than 5,000 people are expected to attend this year's soiree, the 12th in Philly, and there will be live performances and dancing following the meal.
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"What I love about (Dîner en Blanc) is the community," said Natanya DiBona, co-host of Philadelphia's Dîner en Blanc. "It's bringing people together in just such a joyous way. I think everyone's doing their part, and that makes people invested, you know, and it transforms the space really easily."
Here's what to know about past Dîner en Blanc events and what we know so far about the mysterious 2024 iteration:
What is Dîner en Blanc?
The rules for Dîner en Blanc events are specific and straightforward: Wear white and bring your own food, drinks (no hard liquor or beer), cutlery, chairs, tables and picnic baskets. Each year, tickets to Philly's exclusive Dîner en Blanc sell out. To be considered for an invite, you must either have attended the previous year's event, be sponsored by someone who did, or be on the waitlist. Tickets for this year are already long gone, according to organizers. But if you're considering next year's event, there's a $14 membership fee plus a $53 participation fee for DEB.
Dîner en Blanc began in 1988 in Paris as a gathering with a handful of friends and has since expanded to be held in more than 120 cities in 40 countries. The event was brought to Philadelphia in 2012 by a six-person volunteer planning team co-led by DiBona. She had learned about the event after visiting relatives in Montreal, one of the cities that hosts DEB. Through her research, she came across a Facebook group about the inaugural Philadelphia DEB. DiBona expressed her interest in helping out and was eventually chosen to co-host the event alongside Kayli Moran.
Chris Mansfield/Philly PR Girl
Guests of Philadelphia's Le Dîner en Blanc are led to the secret location of the picnic in 2023.
"They put my co-host, Kayli, and I together, and that was it," DiBona said. "It was really very fortuitous because she and I have the same vision for the event. … We both had the same vision of what it should and could be, and the respect of French culture and wanting to honor the origins of the event. She does logistics and I do the marketing side, and it works out really well. We've been together 12 years now; this will be our 12th event."
Philadelphia's inaugural Dîner en Blanc was held at Logan Circle, which was chosen "to honor the French roots" of the event, DiBona said, because it was designed by French architect Jacques Gréber.
Since then, the event has grown from its inaugural guest list of 1,300 people to more than 5,000. It also expanded from that original six-person volunteer team to involve over 150 volunteers. Each year organizers put out a call for volunteers on social media. Volunteers may help out in the planning phases or on the day of the party, including group leaders who meet attendees at a designated spot to take them to the secret DEB venue.
"What goes into the planning is a lot of blood, sweat and tears, a lot of volunteer time," DiBona said. "This is all volunteer run."
In the years since 2012, Philly has hosted DEB at JFK Boulevard Bridge, Avenue of the Arts, Navy Yard, Art Museum steps, Franklin Square, City Hall/Thomas Paine Plaza, Boathouse Row, Rittenhouse Square, Logan Circle (again) and Memorial Hall/Please Touch Museum. There was no event in 2020 due to COVID-19. The only time Philly's DEB repeated a location was in 2022, when it was again held at Logan Circle to commemorate its 10th anniversary in Philadelphia.
"On the planning side for picking a location, it's working with the city, finding a location that will work for this year," DiBona said. "Sometimes you go to a location, they say, 'Well, we're doing improvements. Come back in three years,' because you always want to show off the city in the best possible light. So if there's going to be an incredible improvement three years from now, you want to show it off then."
DiBona also helped bring the event to Atlantic City in 2022, and it has continued to be held there each year since.
What's happening during this year's event?
The mystery location for Philly's DEB will not be revealed until moments before it's set to begin. While she couldn't share any specific details, DiBona confirmed that the event will be held at a "new location."
"I think it's beautiful," she said of this year's venue. "I hope people will share my opinion. I mean, obviously, we always choose locations that we love. We've never picked something that we didn't really fully embrace, but they're always all different, for different reasons, whether it's Franklin Square or last year with the Please Touch Museum, we had that beautiful carousel. So there's things that each location offers that are unique, but I do think people will enjoy this one."
While the public space hosting DEB is a secret, there are some other details that have already been shared ahead of time.
For example, this year's party pays homage to the 50th anniversary of the song "Come and Get Your Love" — a Redbone song reportedly written in Philadelphia — with themes of love, unity and community. There will be music by the Boathouse Row Band and DJ Nico Oso. There will also be tango lessons and drum lines providing entertainment.
Chris Mansfield/Philly PR Girl
Each year, Philadelphia's Le Dîner en Blanc picnic is punctuated by live entertainment, dancing and sparklers.
"We thought maybe if we told our guests (the theme) ahead of time and maybe they got in on the the love and heart theme, it might be fun," DiBona said. "Right now, there's so much going on in the world, and maybe the message of showing a little love in the City of Brotherly Love is important. So we'll see people really go all out in what they wear and their table-scapes. So I'm hoping that'll be a fun thing for people to design."
Wherever it's held, DEB will include the same sequence of events. Guests will meet at their specified departure location, where their guide will lead them on foot to the surprise spot — "You just have to be open for adventure," said DiBona, who also advised attendees to pack light for that reason. Then, once everyone's set up, the dinner portion of the evening commences with a napkin wave. After the food and the beverages have been consumed, DEB becomes a "great street party" followed by a "magical" sparkler lighting.
Dîner en Blanc is billed as a rain-or-shine event, unless there's lightning. But for those who want to know whether to bring their jackets or umbrellas, only in shades of white of course, the Philadelphia weather forecast for Thursday predicts 89 degrees and sunny for the daytime and 67 degrees with a few clouds at night. No matter where this year's DEB is held, organizers just hope people will be able to enjoy a Philly public space in a unique way.
"We want people to see spaces in different ways, and maybe architecture they never noticed, or a history of a space that they didn't understand," DiBona said. "If there's a few people that have a different appreciation for a space or go back there, that's a win for us."
