A magical event that started 27 years ago in Paris, Diner En Blanc has become an an ultra-chic pop up dining experience that has made its way to Washington D.C.
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This year we were finally able to attend this exclusive event and the excitement was overwhelming!
This exclusive all white event takes place at a secret location. Guests aren’t made aware of the of the location until the moment you are greeted by a sea of people setting up tables. We were instructed to arrive at the meeting location at a specific time to depart to the secret location. Personally we felt like we were on the Amazing Race. The uncertainty is very exciting but can be a little stressful. We couldn’t afford to be on CP time, or we would get left behind.
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When you finally arrive to the secret location you are greeted with a sea of white. Thousands of people, dressed in all white, white chairs, plates, and silverware. Conducting themselves with the greatest decorum, elegance, and etiquette. All meeting for a mass “chic picnic” in a public space.
For this year’s Diner En Blanc DC, the secret location was Carnegie Library.
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Everything, we mean EVERYTHING had to be in white. The only thing that brought color and individuality to the each table was the cuisine and decorations. Each table of two seemed to reflect their individuality with cultural cuisines.
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Each guest has the freedom to design the table they see fit or best reflects their personality. We chose to go with what candles and white flowers. Nkemlife had to bring a little Nigerian-American culture to the table. With the event being all white themed, we had to find a way to make it our own. We made a conscious decision to make it us by fusing both cultures together.
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We decide to continue our Afro fusion theme by bringing our own food verses ordering from their menu.
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On our menu was homemade spicy chicken Caesar salad. For our main course we brought Jollof rice, plantain, fried fish and Moi Moi.
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Our food became a topic of conversation. The people we dined with were intrigued by the Moi Moi and the redness of the rice.
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Cultural conversations began and made it easier for strangers to relate because food has a way of bringing people together.
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It was so exciting to experience people waving their napkins in the air with joy and cheer! We are so fortunate to be able to share dinner and wine with not only my sister and I but so many other amazingly interesting people.
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Our attire was yet another way for us to incorporate both cultures. We both wore Western influenced white dresses with little touches of Nigerian flare with our accessories. Chichi wore an extravert white Gele, her head tie became a topic of discussion throughout the night. Angel rocked her Ghana weaving braids in an up do and chandelier earnings.
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The highlight of our night was lighting the sparklers in unison as one. It was so beautiful to witness a sea of sparklers as the sunset.
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The party experience gave us more of the European feel as the lights bounced off the Carnegie Library building and the DJ blasted a techno version of the (Nae Nae) and other house music. We laughed as people moved off beat to the music. It was then we realized we were meant to feel like we were in Paris.
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For the rest of the evening, we danced under moon and mingled with the other attendees.
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It was so interesting to see how each person found unique ways to dress up their all white attire. We loved how the woman pictures above adorned her hair with baby’s-breath…How cool is that!
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Over all we enjoyed the new experience. Diner En Blanc took a lot of work but we are thankful it all came together…the NkemLife way!