Sixteen years of marriage, and we celebrated with 5500 of our not so closes friends. Dîner En Blanc yet again hosted an anniversary celebrations for my husband and I. Ok! It wasn’t all about us. It was about creating an extraordinary festive atmosphere to celebrate life. Family, friends and complete strangers gather together in all white. White outfits, white accessories, white table clothes, white cutlery and even white moscato. There is a special unity formed by the participants and meeting at a random place and starting a once a year night of adventure.
Dîner En Blanc is a global organization that host this classical affair in various parts of the world. “Le Dîner en Blanc recalls the elegance and glamor of high French society, and guests engage one another, knowing that they are taking part in a truly magical event.” Now instead of overly planned vacations, my husband and I enjoy the excitement of meeting new people, the adventure of doing something new together and just having a beautiful night together.
This is a must do event do anyone that simply enjoys being alive. The 2018 event started with our smaller group assembling at Philadelphia’s 30th Street train station. The sun is still heating the pavement, as the ambiance of the white outfitted participants gather together. Each person checking in, acquiring their assigned table space for the event. Just sliding on the Dîner En Blanc full access bracelet starts to transform you.
The magic is orchestrated by Natanya DiBona, Kayli Moran, several head leaders and 100+ squad leaders. There is active involvement by local law enforcement, medical emergency staff, SEPTA (Philly area public transportation), city officials and a host of uber and lyft drivers. Once the clock starts each squad in synchronized into its designated spaces 1-2 miles away. This year included 5,500 people. Anyone seeing this from a distance would automatically assume this parade was practiced for months to get it just right. The reality is, the organized have a lot of experience and the participants are eager to fall in line and enjoy the event.
We arrived at the City of Philadelphia city hall area around 60 minutes after first meeting our squad. We each carrying our own tables, chairs, food and libation to the all white affair. There are only a few synchronized activities such as waving your white napkin or holding your Sparkle high for glamour photos. Besides that, it is a free for all for dancing, laughing and meeting new people from different diversities.
We plan to celebrate our anniversary again next year and we invite you to participate. I will share more details about that soon.
