Last year I saw gorgeous pictures of Diner En Blanc Toronto that took place in Fort York. The pictures were gorgeous and it looked so much fun. My friend Shannon attended with her friends form high school and despite the downpour in 2012 they were all smiles.
The concept for Diner En Blanc is that thousand 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. It was launched 25 years ago in Paris.
Rules for the Event:
- Seats are allotted on-site in a very specific manner (this was done by table & group leaders)
- In order to participate, one must be invited by a participant from the previous year or get on the official website’s waiting list. (Thank you Shannon for sponsoring me!)
- Once confirmed, the presence of each guest thus becomes mandatory, regardless of weather conditions, as the event is held regardless of weather conditions.
- Colour of attire and table setting: white only. (we even had to cover our picnic basket in white)
- Table seating is symmetrical with men seated on one side and women on the other.
- Participants arrive and depart at the same time by chartered bus or organized public transportation.
- Depart with one’s belongings, leftovers and trash, leaving the place as clean as it was upon arrival. (We carted in our table & chairs on a dolly and carried our picnic basket and left the same way)
I left work a bit early on Thursday so I could rush over to my friend Aubrie’s house so we could get dressed and pack up our picnic basket for the event. She’s puppy sitting Moose (a morkie) who I feel in love with immediately. I have a thing for all animals I encounter lately. Must be my need for a fur baby!
We signed up for the pedestrian group (accidentally) at St. James Park which is located at King & Jarvis. I thought pedestrian meant access by walking & TTC and was not aware that it was just walking. I wore very high platform heels and my feet hated me. But I put on the biggest smile because one little blister (or more) were not going to ruin the evening. We were lucky as we probably were the closest group to the location. We arrived at the parking lot at Queen & Jarvis in style and began setting up.
At 7:15pm the napkin waving began. Note: it’s key to bring cloth napkins for this portion of the evening.
Our picnic was epic. I brought the appetizer salad of kale, quinoa, hemp seeds & carrots. I whipped up a quick dressing of olive oil, grapeseed oil, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar and dill and voila! Aubrie an amazing foodie made us Bison Tartare and Peach Cognac Tarts with Ginger Marscapone Cream. TO DIE FOR. We took a picture pre-tart eating and were in heaven. We didn’t want to talk we just smiled like happy happy kids. The meal was both diet (macro complacent) and treat meal approved!
The evening was gorgeous, we had amazing weather, perfect company, great tables beside us. We all looked amazing in white and I can’t wait to see what next year has in store! Although the parking lot was so blah we made the most of it.
My favourite part of the evening was the sparklers! Our table leader handed them out. We all lit them at once. They played Firework by Katy Perry and we danced and waved our sparklers. I was all pouts when mine burnt out so we packed up and went home to our gym clothes and Moose. He got to try on Aubrie’s fascinator and did not like us.
Have you ever attended a Diner En Blanc?