It’s the most exclusive Manhattan event of the year, with a wait list of 45,000. Yet no one even knows where it will be held until they arrive at a meeting spot.
When the lucky 5,000 selected participants gather on Thursday, they will be dressed elegantly in all white, hauling their own tables, chairs, food and tableware with them.
They meet at predesignated spots around the city, such as the fountain across the street from The Plaza hotel. From there, volunteers lead them to their final destination with military-style precision.
The fabulously dressed crowd then set up their elaborately themed tables as the sun sets, with the city as the ultimate backdrop.
Welcome to Diner en Blanc, an eccentric annual event that brings together strangers and friends to dine outdoors in a theater of their own creation.
“It’s a magical mix of food and fashion in a public space so transformed, you will never look at it the same way again,’’ said Sandy Safi, co-founder of Diner en Blanc International with Aymeric Pasquier.
‘It is really a beautiful event, just stunning to look at, and it’s a great community of people coming together to have a great time.’
- Todd English, celebrity chef
When businessman François Pasquier — Aymeric’s father — founded Diner en Blanc in Paris 27 years ago, he saw it simply as an unusual way to have dinner with a large group of pals.
“Francois and his family had been living in Tahiti, and he wanted to reconnect with friends,’’ said Safi.
“One day, [François] was stuck in traffic, and he noticed a couple dining by candlelight at the side of the road.
“He thought, ‘How amazing, why don’t we bring our own tables and chairs to an amazing place and have a beautiful dinner with friends?’ So they did. The first
Diner en Blanc was at the Bois du Bologne,’’ Safi said. “Three hundred people showed up with tables and chairs.”
But even François Pasquier may never have imagined just how popular his idea would be.
The event has now expanded to a yearly experience in 70 cities worldwide.
The event launched in Manhattan in 2011, and its guests have taken it seriously ever since — in the way only New Yorkers can.
They spend months conjuring up elaborate costumes and table settings.
Some participants have dressed up as Marie Antoinette, with extravagantly detailed gowns and wigs. One person created a miniature carousel centerpiece, with each horse carrying a white or silver cupcake, Others regularly string up paper lanterns affixed with LED lights.
“They bring everything, and the outfits get very creative, which is really fun,’’ said celebrity chef Todd English, who creates each of the four menus that participants can choose from.
“People get dressed like they do for the Kentucky Derby, with hats — it’s really that lavish,’’ he said. “It is really a beautiful event, just stunning to look at, and it’s a great community of people coming together to have a great time.”
The first year, the Manhattan event was held at the former World Financial Center plaza in the Financial District. Then Lincoln Center, Bryant Park, Battery Park City and Pier 26 in Hudson River Park.
While some folks prepare and bring their own food, others preorder from English’s menus.
Options include vegetarian, fish, a light meat such as chicken, or steak. Guests also pre-order wine and champagne.
Kim Schulster, who is in charge of the event’s heady logistics, said, “The night really kicks off when we raise our napkins.’’
When dinner is over, there is music and dancing.
“I have so many people calling me, but I can’t get anyone in,’’ English lamented. “I’m just doing the food!
“There’s a big mystique thing going on and a community feeling that the event fosters, which is all part of the fun,’’ he said.
“There’s a certain amount of bragging rights to get in.’’
Unlike the Met Ball — where conversation is a lost art as fashion conglomerates buy tables stacked with celebrities who play with their phones and flee before the meal is over — Diner en Blanc is all about participation, its organizers say.
Everyone adds to the experience.
“What I love the most is seeing strangers interact with each other,’’ said Linda Davis, who is co-hosting this year’s New York event with Christine Krische and Peter Kohlmann.
“There’s no agenda. No message. Just time to enjoy yourself, the people you are with and to meet new people. It’s quite unique.”
People are invited to the event if they attended last year. They also can invite guests, the number of which depending on how involved they are in the planning. Newcomers can go the Diner en Blanc Web site and sign up — and hope for the best.
A pair of tickets costs $97.
Schulster said she first heard about the event through a friend.
“It was word of mouth, really,” she said. “It started out as an experience. Now it is very personal.
“You either know about the event because you were there from the first year or you were invited by a friend and keep coming back, inviting more friends,” she said.
“People have passion for the event. One woman told me that her husband is a cancer survivor, and he looks forward to this event all year. People propose here, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, it’s really nice to hear.”
Safi noted that the day “always changes, so you can’t really ‘save the date,’ ” but it is in the summer or September.
“People usually take the day or half-day off of work. We meet around 5:15 or 5:45 p.m. and get going,” Schulster said.
Davis said the “element of surprise, the elegance of all white, and the fact that you will be with many other guests who will rise to the occasion” really makes this special.
“Generally, when we go to events, we know every single detail before we get there, including who you will be seated with,’’ she said.
“Diner en Blanc is all about community, meeting new friends and being part of something so unique, and the people you didn’t know at the beginning of the evening — you absolutely know them by the end of the evening.”
Each city brings its own personality to the event. In New York, Safi said, it is all about food and fashion.
“New Yorkers have taken this to an artistic level for food, and it is so fashion-forward,’’ he said.
Elizabeth Angebrandt, 52, a controller for a wealth-management company, has gone to Diner en Blanc every year since she first heard about it in 2012.
“I thought, ‘That’s something I’m going to do,” the Melville, LI, woman said.
She brings her colleagues, her children, and her friends. This year, she will be part of a group of 18 people.
Angebrandt says her group plans to meet at a fountain across from the Plaza hotel at 5:30 p.m.
“As a collective group, we will begin our departure at 6 p.m,” she said.
“We just have no idea where we are going and what it will look like,” Angebrandt said.
“My group leader is great,’’ she added.
“We had a meeting last week to pick the exact meeting spot and to discuss the specifics — when we will meet, check everyone in, what subway entrance, how many stops, and where we meet when we exit the subway.”
The group leaders are told three days before where the secret location will be.
“They won’t stay group leaders for long if word gets out,” Angebrandt warned.
There are around 20 group leaders for the event.
Angebrandt will wear a white linen suit, white hat, and lots of pearls.
“I am bringing 36-inch vases and a dozen orchids,’’ she said.
As because there is a dress code and a secret location, it’s not easy to crash the party — but interaction with passers-by is welcomed by the easygoing crowd, Safi said.
“We have a lot of participation between passers-by and participants, who are happy to answer questions. It creates a bond,” Safi said, adding that it is not often that you’ll see thousands of people dressed in white holding an outdoor dinner party while you’re passing by while running or on your bike.
“It’s hard to crash the party. It doesn’t really work that way since there isn’t an extra seat at the table and the crashers aren’t in white — however they are welcome to sit down if there’s a seat or public bench nearby and if they want to join the dancing — by all means.
“We are happy to have them. But they will stand out. They can’t really crash. They aren’t equipped,” Safi said.
Maybe they’ll officially join the party next year — or at least put their names on the wait list.