Inside the secretive, over-the-top NYC dinner party where there’s a waitlist of 45,000 and guests have to follow crazy rules.
Once a year, a select group of New Yorkers shed their stereotypical all-black ensembles and dress head-to-toe in white to gather for a picnic. But this isn’t your average evening dining al fresco — instead, it’s a secretive yet over-the-top spectacle even Jay Gatsby would approve of.
This is Le Diner en Blanc.
(Revelers is going to have to do one of these and call it The Pirates Ball)
New York City’s eighth annual Le Diner en Blanc is scheduled to take place Monday.
On the day of the dinner, 6,500 party-goers dressed in elaborate, all-white ensembles will gather at 30 predetermined locations scattered throughout the city, carrying their picnic baskets and lugging their own folding tables, chairs and tablecloths. They’ll then be shepherded en masse by volunteers to the 2018 dinner’s secret location (for the past seven years it’s been in Manhattan). There they’ll set up their spread and eat, drink and dance the night away.
Now, Le Diner en Blanc draws 120,000 participants worldwide; the parties are held on six different continents in 30 countries across 80 cities, including far-flung locations like Havana, Cuba and Madrid, Spain. The event celebrated its 30th anniversary in Paris, France in June, drawing a record 17,000 participants.
