“Everyone comes in. You sit either next to people you may know or don’t. You open up your picnic basket. People are always interested in what other people have worn, what they’ve brought to dine on. It just is this really big coming together of Washingtonians.”

Unlike a gala, political fundraiser, or traditional festival, Diner en Blanc has no speakers, agenda, or guests of honor — it is intentionally apolitical.

“It’s just a night out,” Davis said. “It’s kind of like going to a concert and rolling up your picnic basket and your concert blanket, and just enjoying music. It’s the same, only you dress up and really strut yourself.”

While political guests, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, have been invited and other well-known guests have attended in the past, their presence is never a selling point or mentioned. 

“You’re literally sitting at a table that’s about 30 by 30 square,” Davis said. “It’s white linen. You are wearing white.… It is a beautiful, non-agenda event. There isn’t an agenda. It’s just everyone coming together for a beautiful evening, beautiful meal, dancing, just kind of a celebration of not having anything to celebrate.”

That openness and sense of community are part of what organizers say has allowed such appeal to a broad cross-section of Washington. The event’s demographic ranges from people in their late 20s through their 60s, according to Davis, and longtime attendees have developed friendships and traditions that continue well beyond the annual dinner.

“It doesn’t feel to me like I’m not with anyone that may not be my people,” she said. “This event is an event where everyone’s your people.”

Partnership with Art to Go-Go

This year, Diner en Blanc partners with Art to Go-Go, the Arts and Culture District in historic Anacostia. The Anacostia Business Improvement District, which powers Art to Go-Go, highlights the artists, musicians, craftsmen, and longtime businesses that give the neighborhood its identity.

For Kristina Noell, executive director of the Anacostia BID, bringing that culture to Diner en Blanc is a chance to challenge the way people view Anacostia and encourage Washingtonians to cross the Anacostia River.

“Being east of the river in Washington, D.C., a lot of people look at the river as a separator, and I look at it as a connector,” Noell told the Washington Examiner.

The partnership will connect Anacostia artists with thousands of attendees throughout the dinner. Guests will be able to purchase artwork directly from the artists, supporting local creators’ work as they meet others from throughout the district.

Artists will be given words and themes inspired by both Parisian and Washington culture, then create pieces live.

“We always get amazing pieces that come from them,” Noell said. “People on site want to purchase the artwork literally on site, and that makes it even more special because we know we’re supporting our artists.”

The music will similarly blend the cultures of jazz and a D.C. favorite, go-go, performed by Washington-based musicians.

“I want people to walk away with, ‘Wow, this is an amazing event that Diner en Blanc holds,’ but they’ve embraced a community that we may not have gone to, may not have paid a lot of attention to, and I want to make my way over there,’” Noell said.

Partnership with Alliance Francaise 

The partnership with Alliance Francaise de Washington, D.C., which has been in Washington since 1905, brings Diner en Blanc back to its French roots.

Sarah Diligenti, executive director of Alliance Francaise, said the organization hopes to introduce a broader understanding of French culture — one that extends beyond the familiar images of Paris, baguettes, and berets.

The organization, part of a worldwide network of roughly 800 other organizations, promotes not only the French language and culture but also cultures throughout the French-speaking world, including communities in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

“A lot of people in the United States think of France as Paris, and then as a baguette or a bike or a beret and a bottle of wine and a cheese. Well, no, France is not just that,” Diligenti told the Washington Examiner.

“Alliance Francaise is not like that tiny jewel box, if I can say so, in D.C., reserved for ‘ladies who lunch’ and you know with white gloves,” Diligenti added. “No, that’s not the case. We’re open to absolutely everyone, and we like diversity, inclusion, and making sure that everybody is represented. That is part of the social tapestry nowadays in France. Because in the past, people would assume a French person was white. Well, no, not only. So that’s something we want to make sure people understand.”

For Diligenti, that connection is particularly fitting because Diner en Blanc is rooted in the French tradition of gathering strangers and friends together in public spaces.

The concept began in Paris in 1988 and has since become a global phenomenon, with each city developing its own version and incorporating the elements and characteristics of what makes that city unique.

Over the years, Diner en Blanc has moved around the district, bringing guests to locations they otherwise might not visit. It has been held near the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol, the Kennedy Center, and the former Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium complex.

The secrecy of the location is part of the appeal. Guests know they have a ticket, but they do not know where they’re going until they are led there.

For organizers, the surprise is less about hiding a location than creating a shared experience.

“You watch this like magic,” Davis said. “You start to see 4,000 people dressed in white moving about the city.”

Guests sit at long tables, often beside people they did not know before arriving. They eat, talk, dance, and enjoy performances. Many attendees return year after year, while others have formed friendships that extend beyond the event.

“It is built to open yourself up to talking to strangers,” Davis said.

This year’s theme, “Une Soirée Parisienne: La Belle Époque,” will draw on the golden age of Paris while incorporating contemporary Washington through local art and music.

The location will remain secret until guests are escorted from designated departure points on Aug. 29. Tickets are sold in phases, with preference given to guests who attended the previous year or are sponsored by past attendees, followed by guests on the “fan list.”

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE WASP ESTABLISHMENT

Tickets start at $60 and must be purchased in pairs.

“It’s unlike anything you’ve ever attended before,” Davis said. “You will leave feeling happy with your community.”