If you’re a fan of white then you are going to love the big deal Parisian Diner en Blanc event coming to the Big D for the first time on September 17, 2015.

With its beginnings in Paris, France, Le Diner en Blanc is now hosted in over 60 cities in 30 countries around the world, 2015 is the inaugural year for both Dallas and Houston to participate.

“After over a year of interviewing, planning, and dreaming, we are so excited that Diner en Blanc is only a month away,” said Karen Raehpour, one of the three local hosts for Dinner en Blanc Dallas. “We’re hoping that Dîner en Blanc becomes the event to score tickets for, not just this inaugural year, but for many summers to come.”

All three of the Dallas Diner en Blanc Founders/Hostesses own independent Meeting and Event Planning Companies in the city. It was co-founder Rachael Kissel of RK meetings who actually got the ball rolling when she heard about the Diner en Blanc experience from friends in other cities. When she began to look for the event locally there wasn’t one being offered.

“She found that it was not yet in the works, but that Diner en Blanc was looking for a team of local hosts to organize this grand scale event in her home city,” said Raehpour.

From there Kissel began to research and recruited two of her colleagues as co-hosts, Marti Fox of Global Goals Inc. and Raehpour of Just Show Up! Meetings and Events.

 “There is no hidden ideological or political agenda, nor philanthropic enterprise,” said Raehpour. “Diner en Blanc really is just about getting together as a community to celebrate food, fine wine, friendship and our gorgeous Dallas public spaces.”

Launched more than 25 years ago by François Pasquier and his close friends in Paris, France, Dîner en Blanc, coined as a Parisian-style pop-up picnic, now brings together nearly 15,000 people each year in some of the most prestigious locations throughout the City of Lights.

With an all-white dress code, to uphold Pasquier’s tradition, guests of Diner en Blanc around the world bring their own portable tables, white chairs, white table linens, tableware, and food and guests are asked to wear head-to-toe white attire.

“To see the event take place with the monochromic color scheme is really spectacular,” Raehpour said.

The location, true to Diner en Blanc form, remains a secret until the night of the event with attendees only being directed to a rendezvous point.

“Part of the fun of Diner en Blanc is the mystery of the location and guessing where it will be held year after year,” Fox said.

Guests are also treated to Parisian-style street performances, local musicians, and entertainers throughout the evening. After enjoying the three-course picnic dinner they’ve either prepared or purchased on-line, the dancing commences with the evening ending with a fireworks show.

In 2009, the first ever export of Le Diner en Blanc took place in Montreal, Canada. The first American edition of Diner en Blanc took place in 2011 in New York City.

“This event is so unlike anything Dallas has ever seen before,” Raehpour concluded. “Knowing the great lengths attendees in other cities have gone to in preparing decadent meals, designing awesome tablescapes, and dressing to the nines, we cannot wait to see what Dallas party-goers will bring to the table, so to speak.” 

The event’s waiting list is now open at dallas.dinerenblanc.info/register.