A sea of white thronged Pennsylvania Avenue leading up to the U.S. Capitol for Le Dîner en Blanc, which returned to D.C. last Saturday for the seventh year after a pandemic pause.
Le Dîner en Blanc is a pop-up picnic where people — fashionably dressed in all white — gather at a mystery location that isn’t revealed until the last minute. They bring their own food, drinks, tables, chairs and decorations and set up their own dining spot — joined by thousands of other white-clad revelers.
The concept originated in Paris in 1988 as a “word-of-mouth” hush-hush event to share a gourmet meal with friends at a secret outdoor location in public. It exploded in 2012, when the Canada-based Dîner en Blanc International expanded the event to more than 80 cities in 30 countries around the world.
That includes D.C., where more than 4,500 people gathered for this year’s dinner on Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 6th streets Northwest. For many, it was a reunion after organizers couldn’t hold the dinner last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
John Falcicchio, D.C. deputy mayor of planning and economic development, said the return of the large-scale outdoor attraction is “just another sign that D.C. is open.”
“People are having fun but … it’s a safe environment and it’s one that obviously is well thought-out and well planned,” Falcicchio told WTOP. “So the city is proud to host it.”
Falcicchio said it made sense to cancel last year’s dinner, “but now we’re at a point where if you really focus on the outdoor element, then you can do events. I see people here who are wearing masks, I see people with hand sanitizer, so people are taking precautions, but it’s really best to be outdoors.”
As for indoor settings, Falcicchio said the city will continue to ask people to wear masks “as long as the public health officials say they’re necessary,” describing masks as an “act of kindness.”
“If you wear a mask, it’s showing that you not only care about yourself, but those around you as well,” he said.
But Falcicchio stressed that “the most important layer of protection” is vaccines, which is why the city is working to “emphasize wherever we can and whenever we can the importance of getting vaccinated.”
Dressed in a white linen shirt and pants, Falcicchio said that while people need to continue to take the pandemic seriously, they’re also in need of a break.
And Le Dîner en Blanc is definitely a break from the usual.
Groups set up impromptu dinner tables replete with chandeliers, parasols, lanterns and personal signage. After dinner and the signature white napkin wave, partygoers danced to music from the local band DuPont Brass and DJ Honey, while actors in fantastical costumes on stilts strolled through the crowd.
“This is more than an event,” Falcicchio said. “It’s a vibe.”
