Imagine a picture-esque Long Island destination packed with 15,000 foodies and fashionistas dancing, dining and partying under the stars while dressed head to toe in white—despite it being well after Labor Day.
That scene is set to play out when Le Dîner en Blanc, an annual pop-up picnic held in cities worldwide, makes its Long Island debut on Oct. 6, with one catch: the time and location are secret until those lucky enough to be invited meet at pre-event rendezvous points.
“Long Island is such a booming place right now…we thought that this would be the best place to have Le Dîner en Blanc,” said Bridget O’Brien, a spokeswoman for and co-host of the event. “There’s so many fashionistas on Long Island, there’s so many foodies, and bringing all of them together at one place would be a phenomenal event.”
François Pasquier devised Le Dîner en Blanc, which has been held in iconic locales worldwide such as the Eiffel Tower and in over 30 cities, including New York City, Washington, D.C., Montreal and San Juan, since starting in Paris in 1988.
“Why not us?” asked Donyshia Boston-Hill, CEO of the Brand Marketing & Digital Agency, who is also co-hosting the event. “Why should we be left out of this amazing, magical evening?”
Attendees must be invited by an insider, register online with their invitation code and bring a date—as the traditional event culture thrives on coupled attendance. After registering, attendees sign up to meet at one of the nine designated departure places on LI so they can arrive in unison at the final, secret destination.
Guests will arrive with a white square folding-table and two white chairs, a white picnic basket and/or bag, a gourmet meal for two, a white tablecloth, cloth-napkins, cutlery, dishware, glassware, a white garbage bag and their white-clad selves.
Upon arrival, guests will be accompanied by their assigned Table Leader, who will give them a precise seating location to set up their table. After the table’s entire row has been set up the guests can sit.
Once all of the guests are seated, they participate in a symbolic wave of the napkin signaling that they may start dancing. As they dance, they will light sparklers, creating a summer-like ambiance.
“In NYC, the napkin wave was literally 7,000 people waving their napkins all at the same time to start the event,” O’Brien said. “It’s really something you’ll be talking about for quite some time.”
The event is also hosted by Shanoy “Mr. Nightlife” Skeete, and Graphic Designer Daphne Charlost. Event sponsors include Lord and Taylor Manhasset, Vera Moore Cosmetics, The Garden City Hotel, Discover Long Island, Nassau County Museum of Art, Audi of Lynbrook and Long Island Press.
Registration for Le Dîner en Blanc is $49 per person. Make sure to register for this unique experience before it sells out. The event is rain or shine. For more information about Le Dîner en Blanc’s Long Island debut, visit longisland.dinerenblanc.com
