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Diner en Blanc is gearing up

The wait list is now open for this summer's Diner en Blanc, the pop-up picnic that celebrates public space and dinner as an art form.

The wait list is now open for this summer's Diner en Blanc, the pop-up picnic that celebrates public space and dinner as an art form.

The actual date will be announced on Tuesday, June 9, at a free party from 5 to 7 p.m. under the cover of the Headhouse Square Shambles at Second and Lombard Streets. Luke Palladino Catering will join Garces Events and Di Bruno Bros. as the official caterers for the main event.

(I'm going out on a limb here to guess that the date will be Thursday, Aug. 20, since the Philly DEBs have previously been held on the third Thursday in August.)

The location, of course, will not be disclosed till the evening of.

Diner en Blanc, which began in France in the 1980s, has been a hot ticket since its Philadelphia debut in 2012, when 1,300 people dressed in white partied around Swann Memorial Fountain in Logan Circle. The 2013 outing, in the middle of the JFK Bridge across the Schuylkill, sold out in 24 minutes. The 2014 Diner en Blanca drew more than 3,500 guests to the middle of Broad Street, from City Hall to Pine Street.

Organizers assure that those who have been on the DEB list previously will receive notice of registration automatically. Those not on the list can register here. The wait list does not guarantee a spot - it just ensures that those on the list will be notified when slots go on sale in early summer through a new lottery system.