Dîner en Blanc – Long Island, a secretive pop-up dining and social event that conjures up the free-wheeling sense of adventure and majesty of the city of Paris, is returning to our very own island on Thursday, August 24thafter an unfortunate COVID-19-imposed hiatus.
Event founder and host, Donyshia Boston-Hill, said that Dîner en Blanc – Long Island is a fun and fashionable good time inspired by Le Dîner en Blanc de Paris, an event launched in 1988 by François Pasquier that typically draws upwards to 10,000 guests annually to this very day.
Inspired by the French event’s success, similar gatherings were conceived and carried out across the world; Boston-Hill said that she discovered the New York City offshoot and was inspired to bring this ode to dining and camaraderie to her home of Long Island.
“Dîner en Blanc – Long Island is a pop-up chic urban dinner, and we pop up in amazing places around Long Island,” Boston-Hill said.“And it was really because New York City had a Dîner en Blanc and as Long Islanders, we don’t want to lug our tables and chairs into the city, so I said, ‘why not Long Island?’ We applied for the license for Long Island, and we launched in 2017.”
According to Boston-Hill – a West Hempstead resident and small business owner – she experienced a great deal of early success with the event, running it through 2019; however, she then ran into the unfortunate brick wall that was the COVID-19 pandemic, sidelining the event until this year.
One of the more unique things about Dîner en Blanc – Long Island is that its participants are not told where it will take place until the very last minute, a playful concept that Boston-Hill referred to as “Parisian style.”
“The founder of Le Dîner en Blanc de Paris, François Pasquier, told participants to meet underneath the Eiffel Tower and to wear all white so he could identify them. Fast forward, it became a global phenomenon,” she said.“And we always wear all white so we can identify each other as we travel to the event’s secret location. We could meet on a corner, or a shopping mall, and then the volunteers who are leading the event guide them to the secret location.”
Attendees can register on the website (NOTE: registration for 2023 closes on 8/21 at 11:59 p.m.), initially without a single clue as to where the event will take place; however, Boston-Hill noted that the secret meeting place is always in the vicinity of the venue where Dîner en Blanc will actually be held. From there, participants can be transported there by Coach Bus or – if they’re feeling up to taking a stroll –they could simply walk there instead.
Dîner en Blanc attracts all walks of life, from foodies to fashionistas to wine connoisseurs and more. But the one common thread amongst them all is the desire to socialize and make friends, which is the main driving force of the event.
Participants can invite as many of their friends and colleagues as they like, although they can only be seated in groups of two; however, there’s no limit as to how many groups of two one wishes to bring along.
In addition to the social aspects and the fashionable white outfits, another major aspect of Dîner en Blanc is, of course, dinner. Attendees have the choice of preparing and packing their own meals and bringing their own tables and chairs or renting tables and chairs and pre-purchasing meals from the event’s eStore instead.
“A lot of people really get into what exactly their dinner will be, and we have contests for the best meal of the night, in addition to contests for the best fashion or the best tablescape,” Boston-Hill said. “It’s a really great adult night out for ages 18 and older; however, no pets or allowed, even if they do have white fur. It’s just a way to bring people together in a sense of harmony and food.”
Some people may find the sheer number of attendees at Dîner en Blanc – Long Island to be somewhat daunting; at the first event in 2017, Boston-Hill said they had 1,500 participants, and the event’s attendance swelled to a whopping in 2,000 in 2019 prior to being shut down temporarily by the pandemic.
Obviously, given the sheer size of Dîner en Blanc, outdoor venues are the way to go; events are always rain or shine, and have taken place at locations such as the plaza surrounding Nassau Coliseum and the grounds of the Nassau County Museum of Art.
Once Dîner en Blanc attendees have gathered in the secret location and set up their respective tables and meals, a symbolic napkin wave marks the beginning of festivities.
“When everyone sees the napkin wave, they pick up their own napkins, wave them, and then sit down and have a lovely Parisian dinner,” Boston-Hill said. “Meanwhile, we provide the entertainment and the music and people just enjoy themselves. They talk to each other, which is something we don’t do enough of. We mostly talk at each other on social media these days, so this gives them that one-to-one contact.”
Once dinner is completed, Boston-Hill noted, the “sparkler moment” takes place, signifying that it’s time to get out on the dance floor and move your feet.
“It’s a beautiful moment, hundreds of people lighting sparklers and then they dance, they watch our entertainment, enjoy the night, and then they clean up after themselves and go home,” she said. “After all, we must leave the public location and the same condition that we found it.”
Annual membership for the event is $47 if you plan on walking to the secret location, and $67 if you want to travel there via Coach Bus.
The event will take place on Thursday, August 24th, with the meetup to go to the secret location beginning at 4:00 p.m. The selected meetup points are currently listed on the event’s website.
Boston-Hill said her desire to bring the Dîner en Blanc experience to Long Island took root after she and her family relocated to the region in 2009.
“At the time I was commuting into Manhattan every day for work, and I felt like I didn’t really have a community at home. When I found out about Dîner en Blanc – New York City, I thought having a similar event on Long Island would be a great way for people here to make new acquaintances,” she said. “I started Dîner en Blanc here because I really wanted to be part of the fabric of Long Island, I wanted to get to know people, to meet people with common interests, sit down and have dinner.”
“Another reason is that Long Island has so many amazing locations,” Boston-Hill continued.“We have mansions, beaches, lighthouses, and lovely arboretums. It’s just really exciting, and I thought about how people are doing this in other cities, and I said to myself, hey, Long Island is the place. We need this here.”
To find out more about Dîner en Blanc – Long Island and to register for the event, please visit their website at https://longisland.dinerenblanc.com.
