Ideas For Table Settings for Diner en Blanc

Ideas For Table Settings for Diner en Blanc

Last month Diner en Blanc held their preview party at the Reading Terminal Market. It was there that guests got their first taste of the food, decor and atmosphere of what they’ll experience on August 18. There was also a display of nearly a dozen tables which competed for the best decorated. During Diner en Blanc, there is a similar table decorating contest, as well as a best dressed contest.

Diner en Blanc Philadelphia returns on Thursday, August 18, 2016 to a secret location revealed just moments before the picnic begins. In honor of the event’s fifth anniversary, the très chic picnic will expand to 5,000 guests in 2016, tying New York City as the largest in America and one of the largest in the world.

Part mystery tour, part pop-up feast and part je ne sais quoi, Dîner en Blanc is a magical evening that celebrates and re-purposes public space. Bystanders will witness groups of guests all dressed in white gathering at specific rallying points all across the city. Guided by volunteers, these groups will then converge on a unique and unexpected setting, travelling by foot, bus and/or public transportation. Guests will bring their own gourmet feast, table, chairs and table setting. Over the course of the evening, they will eat and celebrate amid music, entertainment and dancing.

Diner en Blanc was brought to Philadelphia by co-hosts Natanya DiBona and Kayli Moran. Each year they coordinate the event with a team of volunteers which this year will top 160 (including the annual planning team, table leaders and on-site event support).

Past surprise locations for Dîner en Blanc Philadelphia have included 2012’s Logan Circle, 2013’s JFK Bridge, 2014’s Avenue of the Arts and 2015’s The Navy Yards, Marine Parade Grounds. The event has grown from 1,200 in 2012, to 2,550 in 2013, to 3,500 in 2014, and 4,500 in 2015. For 2016, DiBona and Moran have big plans for the biggest year yet, with 5,000 guests.     

Judging the tables: Siobban Reardon, Phila Library, Brooke Thomas, CBS3Philly, and Brian Cawley, Lord & Taylor, judge one of the dozen Diner en Blanc tables at the preview party

Séda Alexandrian, Touché and Lisa Silveri, Manager at DRANOFF Properties Realty, Inc.

Chef Jacqueline Peccina Kelly and Laura Eaton with their winning table which was inspired by the Titian R. Peale Butterfly and Moth Collection housed at The Academy of Natural Sciences.