The Best Picnics ever!
A beautiful August evening in Redwood City, California. Hundreds of people, all dressed in white, gather in the parking lot of Canada College for a yearly tradition: le diner en blanc. This one is called “Picnic en blanc”. But it is the same thing, a worldwide event, that started in Paris decades ago. Thanks to Eilish, who managed to book 4 tables, we have 27 friends, gathering for Picnic-en-blanc: a night of friends, food and fun.
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How And Where It All Began…
Where else than in Paris would a food event like this have started?! The year is 1988. Francois Pasquier invites a group of friends to an outside dinner in the Bois de Bologne. To make it easy for the diners to find each other, he asks everybody to wear white.
And since that first picnic, the event has grown to 85 cities and 6 continents. In 2018, celebrating its 20th anniversary, 17,000 people attended le Diner in Paris. New York City hosted the first event in the summer of 2011 and has a yearly attendance of 6,500 people and a waitlist of 80,000.
I attended the first one in San Francisco in October of the same year and have attended several since.
The Early Days
I remember our first Le Diner in San Francisco. I had seen pictures of the Paris event and saw an announcement for the San Francisco event on Facebook and thought it would be fun.
As my friend Mandi is a foody, and always up for new experiences, I asked her if she was interested. She was, so we bought 4 tickets and both invited a friend. As a result, Mandi, Brandi, Bina, and I attended the first Le Diner in San Francisco.
Way Back In 2011
It took place on Friday night, October 14, 2011. We did not know the location until 4 PM that same Friday: Golden Gate Park’s Music concourse. The only thing provided was tables, we were bringing everything else.
So around 6 PM, we emerge from the parking garage, dressed in white and loaded with chairs and containers full of food and decorations. I remember the looks of people and the question in their eyes “what is going on here?” The weather was beautiful, and so was the set-up: simple tables and French street signs and a band playing music.
There was no security, no fences. The event kicked off at 7 PM sharp, with the napkin wave. And by 11 PM, everybody had packed up their things and cleaned up all the garbage and you would never have known there had been a party for several hundred people that night.
The Following Years
The four of us attended again in 2012. This time the location was the Marina. A mistake, as by 9 AM, the clouds rolled in from the Pacific and it turned freezing cold.
The location in 2013 was stunning: in front of San Francisco City Hall. And although it was a beautiful balmy night, the set-up and feel had changed. It was more official, with the event space fenced off and security guards patrolling the grounds.
I attended again in 2014, 2016, and 2017. During those years, the event evolved from a simple picnic to a more sophisticated event, with hundreds of people, wine bars, food delivery services, and in the later years even a DJ. But the spirit remained and every year, it was a wonderful night full of friends, food, and fun.
Redwood City 2022
Our event tonight is much smaller, a couple of hundred people. The location is beautiful: Canada College, in the hills high above San Francisco Bay. Weather is always a concern, with the potential of Karl the fog rolling in, but Karl has the night off tonight. It is an exceptionally warm night, with not a cloud in the sky.
Pre-Party Drinks
We all meet at the Bottleshop in Redwood City for pre-party drinks and appetizers. We attract quite a lot of attention. Some twenty-plus people, all dressed in white. The charcuterie boards are beautiful and the Gruner Veltliner and white Bourgogne wines are delicious.
The Dinner And After-Dinner Party
We have 4 tables for our group of 27. Eilish brought the table clothes and napkins and Vanessa did her usual magic with the flowers and table decorations. As this event is a fundraiser, we are not allowed to bring our own wine, but buy it to support the charity.
We have plenty of food, from appetizers to main courses and desserts, all as much as possible sticking to the white theme, like mac ‘n cheese and shepherd’s pie. By the time we finish set-up, the sun is about to set. It is a perfect backdrop for pictures. After that, we eat, we drink, we talk and have a wonderful time.
After dinner, there is a band and a dance floor. We dance the night away like it is 2019. It feels so good after 2 long COVID years, to be able to be carefree again and be able to party.
Nice
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