Dîner en Blanc facts for kids
.jpg)
Dîner en Blanc
Paris, Place des Vosges (2012) |
|
| Founded | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Founder | François Pasquier |
| Headquarters |
Paris, France
|
|
Number of locations
|
90+ cities |
Dîner en Blanc means "Dinner in White" in French. It's a special event that happens all over the world. People gather in a public place for a meal, and everyone wears white clothes. They bring their own tables, chairs, food, and tablecloths.
The exact location of the dinner is kept secret until the very last minute. Only people who have signed up beforehand get to know where it will be. These dinners often take place in famous spots in big cities. It's like a giant, elegant picnic that pops up for one night!
Contents
The Story of Dîner en Blanc
How the White Dinner Began
The idea for Dîner en Blanc started in Paris, France, in 1988. A man named François Pasquier wanted to have a special outdoor dinner with his friends. He invited them to the Bois de Boulogne, a large park in Paris.
To make sure everyone could find each other in the park, he asked them all to wear white. This simple idea grew into a huge event. It became a yearly tradition in Paris.
Growing Around the World
Over the years, Dîner en Blanc became very popular. It spread from Paris to many other cities. François Pasquier's son, Aymeric Pasquier, helped it grow even more.
In 2009, Aymeric brought the event to Montreal, Canada. This was the first time Dîner en Blanc happened outside of Paris.
Dîner en Blanc Comes to America
In 2011, Aymeric Pasquier and Sandy Safi worked together to bring Dîner en Blanc to the United States. The first American event was held in New York City. It was a huge success!
More than 6,500 people attended the New York event. There was even a waiting list of over 80,000 people who wanted to join. This showed how popular the unique dinner party had become.
Organizing the Global Events
Because the event was growing so fast, Aymeric Pasquier and Sandy Safi created a company in 2012. It's called Dîner en Blanc International Inc. This company helps organize and license Dîner en Blanc events all over the world.
They make sure the special traditions and rules of the event are followed everywhere. This helps keep the magic of Dîner en Blanc alive in every city.
Dîner en Blanc in Asia and Australia
The event continued to spread to new continents. In 2012, Singapore became the first city in Asia to host a Dîner en Blanc. That same year, Brisbane was the first Australian city to hold one.
Other Australian cities like Canberra (in 2013 and 2014) and Melbourne (in 2015) also started hosting their own Dîner en Blanc events.
Recent Years
In 2020, due to a worldwide health challenge, many large gatherings were paused. However, Dîner en Blanc events were still held in Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand. These were the only three countries able to host the event that year.
