Diner En Blanc

Absolutely disappointed that they decided to hold it in a residential neighborhood this time and neglected (or chose not to) inform the actual residents. Got home from work last night to find 1500 – 2000 people eating dinner on the blocks in front of my building. While by all reports this is a fun and awesome event, they dropped the ball by using a residential area as the venue. The businesses around us all knew it was happening and were able to prepare for it. We residents were not notified. They blocked off Woodburn from Taft to Madison and spent well over five hours inconveniencing all of the local residents without a warning, notice or apology. There are sufficient and amazing non-​residential places to hold this event. While it’s awesome that we are a large enough city to have an event like this, some consideration for the residents who live in the area would have been appropriate. In the future please consider how distressing for those of us who live in E Walnut Hills this event was and do not ruin someone else’s home. Choose a nice park or one of the sports venues.
Also, completely disgusted with how our neighborhood looked this morning. It looked like two thousand uninvited strangers showed up and trashed the place.

Great event in Cincinnati, Ohio!
Diner en Blanc was started in Paris as a pop-​up picnic for some friends and 25 years later has expanded all over the world.
Cincinnati first experienced Diner en Blanc in 2012 and the fun of the event is its held at a secret location, no one knows the location until you arrive on the site.
2012 it was held at Lytle Park Downtown by the Taft Museum of art, a magical evening of 1,000 people in white, 2013 1,700 people enjoyed another wonderful evening in white at Washington Park and this year 2014 2,000 people took over Fountain Square for the night.
Diner en Blanc everyone comes dressed in white, you bring all of your picnic supplies, table, chairs, food and drink and have a ball for an amazing evening in September in Cincinnati!

This was one of the most awsome event that i have ever been part of. Got to meet new people and just have a great time. It was great to see all of the different aoutfits people came up with that were all white as was seeing the table people put together. Each person got a ballon and sparkler for after dinner. It was a secptacular sight to see all of the ballons being let go into the sky at once. That was to end dinner and then the party started. 1200 people lit their sparklers and it was a sight to see. At that point the dance floor is opened. Right in the center was a giant statue that people were climbing on top of and dancing on. I will be doing this again next year.

I really have no words to describe this event… and if you know me, that’s no easy feat.
It’s been described as a pop up fancy dinner. Part flash mob. Part picnic. Part fancy revelry. And when it all comes together, absolutely breathtaking! It’s a semi exclusive event. Word of mouth and friends of friends basically. You and your friends meet up with a smaller group of about 50 people. Then these groups meet up with 5 more groups and you’re transported to the secret location for that year. That’s when 1100 people this year spilled out of buses or from various downtown points and set up tables in long rows. Then proceeded to their picnic spread. There is an option to purchase baskets made by places like Orchids and Eat Well Celebrations. From what i saw they were huge! Had plenty to feed 2 and then pass some around. These will cost you though, anywhere from $ 60-​$ 100.
You will be lucky to get into the event itself. It’s premise is friends coming together, Therefore it’s a friends of friends type gathering. Those that went this year, will be given a spot next year, and they can invite one other couple. Then if there is room, it will go to a wait list. The thing that seems to stop people is the fact that you do have to pay $ 24 a person, plus a one time $ 5 membership fee, to allow you to attend the events in the future. The fee goes towards venue rental, security, entertainment, and most importantly, the liquor license that allows us to consume wine and Champagne in a public area.
The most difficult yet kind of fun part, is finding everything you’ll need. You’re to bring a small square table (under 32×32 inches) 2 white chairs, a table cloth, nice place settings, glasses, a table setting/​decorations, and a picnic basket with your dinner in it, as well as your drinks for the evening. You also are to dress all in white. They do have really nice contests though. They have a best table one, and a most elegant/​creatively dresses group (of 2 – 4 couples); both offer a dinner for 6 cooked by chefs, such as Jean Robert of JR’s Table. And then there is the most elegantly/​creatively dressed couple; this prize is a trip with airfare to Antigua!
This year being in Lytle park was gorgeous! Queen City tower, and the Taft museum flanking us, lights in the trees, darn near everyone with candles. You arrive in a huge group and get set up quickly. at about 7:15 napkins are waved and you start on your 3 courses. Or whatever else you’ve prepared. I used this as an excuse to have a little fun and indulge myself. I saw meat and cheese and fruit trays, dips and spreads and salads. Then you move on to your main course and lastly dessert. Everyone was friendly, and I saw most tables sharing with their neighbors, who most hadn’t met before this evening. It was a great time, and you could take your time and just enjoy it.
Then at around 9 Sparklers were lit by everyone and balloons were released. For whatever reason, this was one of the highlights of the evening. I cant put into words how beautiful it was at that moment. Then it was time to party. Champagne flowed freely, the dj was playing awesome music on the make shift dance floor and Framester was taking awesome photo booth shots! It was just so much fun, half the people didn’t want to leave at 11. But sadly it was time to go as magically and quickly as we arrived. I already can’t wait til next year!