My friend Eva invited me to Diner En Blanc, an all-white flash mob picnic dinner party, inspired by the original 15,000-person invite-only event in Paris. New York and LA followed suit, so it was only a matter of time before Seattle organized one of their own. I had been hearing about it for a few years and jumped at the chance to attend!
The location is kept a secret until the day of. Everyone must dress in white, bring their own tables, chairs, linens, dinnerware, food and drinks. People are expected to conduct themselves with the utmost style and class. Despite Seattle's informal reputation, our group pulled all the stops to make it an extra elegant affair. Flowers, candles, champagne, the works.
It was a magical evening under a pleasant grove of trees in Volunteer Park. An acoustic guitarist gently strummed in the background as we nibbled on cheeses, baguettes, fruit salad, caprese skewers and quiche. After the sun went down, everyone packed up their things, gathered up their trash, and went along their merry way. We were the last to leave.
The next morning, Hal sent me an email from work. "Did you go to the wrong park?" he asked, with a link to a write up in the Puget Sound Business Journal. Confused, I skimmed the article. There was a Diner En Blanc that happened in another park, on another day. This one had 1000+ people. Ours had maybe 100? This one involved celebrity chefs and the who's who of Seattle. Ours involved us, I mean, the future who's who of Seattle!
I started laughing and immediately forwarded the article to the rest of the girls. Apparently, we were invited to the other Diner En Blanc! The knock-off. But it didn't matter. We had a fabulous evening, feasting in the park with strangers in white, and enjoying each other's good company. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful experience.
But if you want to invite us to the real Diner En Blanc next year... call me! ;)
