Dîner en Blanc returns for a second year of majesty and French elegance, with dancing, drinking and eating, amongst other festivities lasting long into the night. The party starts Aug. 15, with tickets available to purchase here.
Translating simply to “Dinner in White,” the highly-elevated picnic lives up to its name – guests come dressed in their nicest white outfit to a secret location, where they dine with friends, participate in traditions and appreciate the unique beauty of Milwaukee with a twist.
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Born in Paris in 1988, the experience is a cultural movement in over 120 cities and 40 countries. After attending and volunteering at events in other cities, organizers Demetra Morgan and Trenetta Pitts knew they had to perpetuate the “magic” in Milwaukee.
“When we attended the event originally, we sat and said, ‘we have to bring this home to Milwaukee,’” said Morgan.
The duo’s leap of faith last year coupled with a splash of spontaneity made the event captivating to locals. The success from last year only inspired Morgan and Pitts to bring the party back.
“As more and more people started talking about Dîner en Blanc and we started getting some bigger names in Milwaukee attending, we saw more people pouring in and inviting their friends,” Morgan said. “We were skeptical originally because we had a lot of unknowns, so it would’ve been easy for people to say, ‘no thanks,’ but we got a great response the first year that encouraged us to do it again.”
The Dîner en Blanc experience begins as guests gather at a departure point, where they meet group leaders who take them to a secret location – one iconic to Milwaukee – of the organizers’ choosing. That sense of intrigue is what carries many to the experience.
“They meet with their table and group leaders, get their table supplies and walk; this year it’s no more than a ten-minute walk from the meeting point to the secret location,” Morgan remarked. “We want guests to think, ‘here we are at this place, and I never would have guessed this is where it was going to be.’”
Once at the location, guests start to set their tables up with decorations of their choosing, while other table members go to acquire food and drinks. Before the dinner, guests are encouraged to explore the site to stop and take pictures, grab a glass of wine, smoke a cigar and munch on appetizers. All the while everyone waits with anticipation for the sign to start the meal: the napkin wave.
“The signature napkin wave is when I finally get to relax – all the stress, anxiety and uncertainty of the day calms down,” Morgan says. “It’s iconic and it happens at every Dîner en Blanc worldwide, it’s the signal that it is now officially time to dine together.”
As the sun goes down, the party goes up. Post-dinner, with sparklers in-hand; guests dance the night away. After much celebration, the event winds down around 10 P.M., when guests and organizers work to leave the space cleaner than they found it.
Morgan and Pitts brought some changes to this year’s party, such as a newly added “cart concierge” that makes it easy to unpack items and store a cart, all for free! Another asset – not new, but improved – is the e-store, where participants can purchase items before the party. In its first year, the obstacle of participants not wanting to bring their own tables and chairs hindered some from attending. This year offers white tables and chairs for only a few dollars extra, including setup on-site.
Attendees can still bring seating or decorations from home to adorn their tables, like the popular mini Eiffel Towers and fairy lights. The e-store offers the convenience of providing the elements to a magical night, from table setting to wine and champagne, centerpieces from local florists plus food and snacks courtesy of Milwaukee-area caterers.
“When you purchase everything from our e-store, you just walk in with your pretty white outfit or you can be creative, and decorate your table yourself with your own chandeliers, candles or tea set,” said Pitts.
But convenience is far from the only benefit – it’s a unique experience with its world spanning French charm and feeling of global camaraderie.
“Joie de vivre – that means the ‘joy of living,’ is what Dîner en Blanc is all about,” said Morgan. “It’s about everyone forgetting the problems and differences we have; for that four-to five-hour time block, we forget about it all.”
