Philly’s 10th Dîner en Blanc is scheduled for Aug. 18
The first Philly Dîner en Blanc in 2012 saw more than 1,300 set up picnic tables around the Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Circle.
People wave their napkins in the air as a tradition to let guest know they are all set and ready to enjoy the night of the annual Diner en Blanc at Rittenhouse Square Park in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, Aug., 12, 2021. Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS
Dîner en Blanc, the pop-up dinner party, will return to Philadelphia on Thursday, Aug. 18. It will be the 10th time the city has hosted the event, and it will fall about a month and a half after the inaugural Atlantic City Dîner en Blanc.
The rules for Dîner en Blanc are as follows: Bring your own table, chairs, food, and drink; Champagne and wine only (no beer or booze). Arrive at the designated meeting site, after which volunteers will lead guests to the surprise location of the dinner, which will happen rain or shine. Pack everything up when you leave — including your trash. And of course: Dress all in white.
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Guests from previous years have first dibs on spots for this year’s event, followed by those “sponsored” by veteran attendees. If you’re brand new to Dîner en Blanc, sign up for this year’s waiting list at register.dinerenblanc.com/philadelphia/en/register. Tickets, about $110 a pair, have sold out every year. (This year’s pricing has not been released.)
About 3,000 people dressed in white fill the sidewalks of Center City for the Annual Diner en Blanc in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, Aug., 12, 2021. Over the course of the evening, guests experience the beauty and value of their city’s public spaces by participating in the unexpected. Enjoying music, food, and entertainment.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer
People begin to find their locations to setup their chairs, tables, and decorations to enjoy their drinks and food for the annual Diner en Blanc at Rittenhouse Square Park in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, Aug., 12, 2021. Over the course of the evening, guests experience the beauty and value of their city’s public spaces by participating in the unexpected. Enjoying music, food, and entertainment.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer
Lisa Wilson, of Laurel, Md., cheers to cups of wine with friends at the annual Diner en Blanc at Rittenhouse Square Park in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, Aug., 12, 2021. This is Wilson’s first time and is visiting her friends in Philadelphia. Over the course of the evening, guests experience the beauty and value of their city’s public spaces by participating in the unexpected. Enjoying music, food, and entertainment.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer
People dressed in white load their BYO-everything into the luggage bays of the busses that will take them to the Dîner en Blanc August 22, 2019. They were gathering at the National Constitution Center, one of the points of convergence in the city to take diners to the secret location.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
BYO-everything people dressed in white wait to board buses to the Dîner en Blanc August 22, 2019. They were gathering at the National Constitution Center, one of the points of convergence in the city to take diners to the secret location.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Tihesha Wilson of Wissinoming makes her way to meet friends as the buses taking her and other BYO-everything people dressed in white to the Dîner en Blanc August 22, 2019. She was gathering with others at the National Constitution Center, one of the points of convergence in the city to take diners to the secret location. This is her second year attending the event.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
In this photo provided by Diner en Blanc International, 5.500 guests participate in the "DÓner en Blanc," Wednesday, July 17, 2019 in New York. Participants dressed in all-white attire gathered at Rockefeller Park in New York's Battery Park City for a dinner at a location which is traditionally kept secret until the last minute. Organizers say that the U.S. version of the event has grown to 30 cities. (Eric Vitale/Diner en Blanc International via AP)Read moreEric Vitale / AP
In this photo provided by Diner en Blanc International, 5,500 guests participate in the "DÓner en Blanc," Wednesday, July 17, 2019 in New York. Participants dressed in all-white attire gathered at Rockefeller Park in New York's Battery Park City for a dinner at a location which is traditionally kept secret until the last minute. Organizers say that the U.S. version of the event has grown to 30 cities. (Eric Vitale/Diner en Blanc International via AP)Read moreEric Vitale / AP
Guests, all clad in white, pop-up in a secret space for the fourth annual Diner en Blanc Thursday, August 20, 2015, this year at the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia. YONG KIM / Staff PhotographerRead more / File Photograph
People in all white eat at Diner en Blanc on Thursday, August 21, 2014.Read moreAbi Reimold/Philly.com
Azi Umi of San Francisco said she loves the artistry of Diner en Blanc.Read moreAbi Reimold/Philly.com
Picnickers walk north on the 300 block of Broad Street on Thursday, August 21. They are a part of a group of 3,500 people who gathered for Diner en Blanc, a flash mob picnic which was held this year on Broad street south of City Hall. The location was selected the day before the event.Read moreAbi Reimold/Philly.com
People in all white eat at Diner en Blanc on Thursday, August 21, 2014.Read moreAbi Reimold/Philly.com
A napkin wave performed by all participants signifies the beginning of Diner en Blanc on Thursday, August 21, 2014.Read moreAbi Reimold/Philly.com
Britt Miller, 28 and Ian Kelly, 36, cross North Broad Street before attending the global phenomenon Diner en Blanc on South Broad where more than 3,000 people, all dressed in white will dine and dance, Thursday August 21, 2014. ( DAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer )Read more
Carol and Dick Wells ( L ), Wyomissing, Pa., and Pat and terry Weiler, Reading, build ready their table setting a the global phenomenon Diner en Blanc is on South Broad Street this year, where more than 3,000 people, all dressed in white will dine and dance, Thursday August 21, 2014. ( DAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer )Read more
Guests at Philadelphia's Diner en Blanc 2013 pop-up picnic on JFK Blvd. Bridge by 30th Street Station on August, 22, 2013 (HughE Dillon/Philly.com)Read more
Guests at Philadelphia's Diner en Blanc 2013 pop-up picnic on JFK Blvd. Bridge by 30th Street Station on August, 22, 2013 (HughE Dillon/Philly.com)Read more
Guests at Philadelphia's Diner en Blanc 2013 popped up picnic on JFK Blvd. Bridge by 30th Street Station on August, 22, 2013 (HughE Dillon/Philly.com)Read more
Guests at Philadelphia's Diner en Blanc 2013 pop-up picnic on JFK Blvd. Bridge by 30th Street Station on August, 22, 2013 (HughE Dillon/Philly.com)Read more
Diner en Blanc is a fancy dinner for 1,300 people at a secret location - in this case, Logan Circle on Thursday, August 23, 2012. Everyone wears white and brings his or her own food, chairs, and table. (STEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer)Read more
Diner en Blanc is a fancy dinner for 1,300 people at a secret location. Everyone wears white and brings their own food, chairs, and tables. Attendees wave their napkins as a signal to start eating at Logan Circle, Thursday, August 23, 2012. (STEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer)Read more
Diner en Blanc 2012. Photo: Emaleigh Doley @emaleighRead more
Attendees fill the Market-Frankford El at 30th Street Station, one of the gathering points before Diner en Blanc. INGA SAFFRON / StaffRead more
Diner en Blanc 2012. Photo: Emaleigh Doley @emaleighRead more
From left. Katie Filpus, Risty Prochnow, and Cathy Waugh wave their napkins at Diner en Blanc on the Art Museum steps at the start of 2016’s event.Read moreDAVID SWANSON
People arrive and get set up for the 7th annual Diner en Blanc at Dilworth Plaza and outside the Municipal Services Building on August 16, 2018.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer
The 7th annual Diner en Blanc at Dilworth Plaza and outside the Municipal Services Building on August 16, 2018.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer
Part of Dîner’s appeal is the last-minute reveal of the location. Past Philly venues have included the Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Circle; the JFK Bridge across the Schuylkill; the middle of Broad Street, from City Hall to Pine Street; Boathouse Row; the Navy Yard; the Art Museum; and around City Hall, in Dilworth Park and Thomas Paine Plaza. Last summer’s event took over Rittenhouse Square.
Dîner en Blanc Philadelphia’s hosts work with the city’s Office of Special Events to arrange the secret location each year. The organization pays the city for site and rental fees, as well as any necessary road closures. A team of volunteers helps coordinate details for marketing, facilities, security, staging, and transportation.
The event started in 1988 as an impromptu gathering among friends who dressed in white to more easily spot each other in Paris’ sprawling Bois de Boulogne. It has spread to more than 80 cities in 30 countries. And while it’s been popular in Philly, it has created controversy as well, with some arguing it’s the “literal whitewashing of Philly.”
Even in the midst of the delta variant’s spike, last year’s event brought almost 3,000 people to Rittenhouse Square..
