Event In Review: Le Diner en Blanc - South Georgian Bay
Le Diner en Blanc - The world famous Parisian style pop-up picnic characterized by its famous all-white dress code took place in South Georgian Bay for the very first time on September 8, 2018. After months of anticipation a sell out crowd of 700 people came together to feast under a beautiful sky, inspired by local charm and a welcoming atmosphere.
A large part of the excitement surrounding Le Diner en Blanc is the secrecy of the event location which is kept a mystery and only revealed to guests at the very last minute. Attendees were asked to rendezvous to one of 9 departure points around South Georgian Bay and were guided into the secret event location by Group & Table leaders to the astonished looks of passers-by.
It was quite the spectacle as hundreds of people in all-white attire were seen walking through Collingwood’s downtown core.
A special thank you to all the volunteer Group & Table leaders! These amazing people in our community helped to ensure that the evening ran smoothly and that everyone got to the secret location without a hitch!
As guests arrived at the secret event location on beautiful Simcoe Street in the heart of Collingwood’s Heritage Downtown, they began the process of setting up their portable tables, white chairs, white table linens, tableware and gourmet meal.
Many got extra creative and elaborate with their table decor!
Le Diner en Blanc with it’s Parisian and European flair is an extremely elegant evening while still being an outdoor pop-up picnic. Guests were asked to wear all-white attire and to be as elegant and creative as possible.
The history behind the all-white dress code was so guests could easily identify one another when they met in a public space or park to attend the original Diner en Blanc picnics in Paris.
At it’s heart, Le Diner en Blanc is an epicurian event. Attendees were invited to bring their own 3 course gourmet meal or they had the option to pre-purchase and pick up on-site one of four Picnic options offered by Bruce Wine Bar / Crow.Bar & Variety. The event itself is completely commerce free (there are no sales and no vendors on-site) so everything must be pre-purchased or planned for ahead of time and brought in by guests.
At 7:30pm, the napkin wave moment, a Diner en Blanc tradition, signals the beginning of dinner and is when all guests are seated to enjoy their meal in the company of friends both old and new.
Then at approximately 9:00pm the beautiful and stunning sparkler moment denotes the end of dinner and the beginning of the after-party.
During the evening attendees were able to roam and interact with friends, enjoy their community, and interact with elements of the unexpected including art-installations curated by Momento Events and roaming circus performers from Collingwood Circus Club.
Also, event sponsors brought fun and interactive installations including the Engel & Volkers Collingwood.Toronto photo booth. The booth had French inspired word bubbles for guests to have fun with and the Georgian Life photo-booth printed off a keepsake photo for guests to take home with them.
The popular Biion Footwear lounge offered a wonderful atmosphere with ping-pong, black and white movies and comfortable lounge style seating.
The after-party featured JUNO nominees and folk music revolutionaries the Lemon Bucket Orkestra. The self-described Balkan-Klezmer-Gypsy-Party-Punk Super-Band delivered a hypnotic, high-energy, spirited performance that had guests on their feet and dancing from the minute they hit the stage through to their last song.
