Back for its fourth year in Victoria, Diner En Blanc is quickly becoming the most anticipated event of the year and for many Victoria residents, the highlight of their social calendar.
You would think that the idea of having to not just make your own food and bring your own picnic (not to mention chairs and table!), but search the city high and low for all-white attire would put people off the idea – too much work you might thing. Au contraire! It is part of what adds to this magical night. Many smartly opt to let the brilliant culinary talent at The London Chef, led by celebrity chef Dan Hayes, prepare their meals and provide the wine – picking them up at the event. When you register, you have the option of selecting from the elegant picnic and libations menu, and paying in advance.
The first year, Diner En Blanc took place in the Orchards at St. Ann’s Academy with 800 guests in attendance. Year two saw 1,200 guests assemble for a chic white dinner at Fisherman’s Wharf Park. Last year, the third year, DEB Victoria welcomed nearly 1,600 guests to Ship Point, where the entire city and all of our city’s tourists watched, marvelled and engaged in what was clearly the most elegant of affairs.
Each year, event planner extraordinaire Aidan Henry (Brink Events) works masterfully behind the scenes to make sure that Diner En Blanc is whimsical, elegant, and memorable. Aidan, his team and his event partners never disappoint.
Where will Diner En Blanc Victoria (happening Thursday June 23rd) be held this year? Register to attend and be one of thousands who experiences DEB Victoria’s 2016 secret location, the elegance of the French picnic concept and the coming together of friends, old and new. Register online at Diner En Blanc Victoria website
What is Diner En Blanc? (from the DEB Victoria website)
At the last minute, the secret location is revealed to thousands of friends who have all been patiently waiting to learn where “Dîner en Blanc” will take place. Thousands of people, dressed all in white, and conducting themselves with the greatest decorum, elegance, and etiquette, all meet for a mass “chic picnic” in a public space.
Over the course of the evening, guests experience the beauty and value of their city’s public spaces by participating in the unexpected. Beyond the spectacle and elegance of the dinner itself, guests are brought together from diverse backgrounds by good taste and a love of beauty. Le Dîner en Blanc recalls the elegance and glamor of high French society, and guests engage one another, knowing that they are taking part in a truly magical event. There are no disruptions: no car traffic, no pedestrian traffic—only amazed and astonished looks from passersby observing the scene before them. And participants, like spectators, wonder whether it’s all not a dream…
Here are a few images from last year’s Diner En Blanc Victoria at Ship Point:
