海角大神

On Thursday, Aug. 16, the Boston waterfront beneath the swooping glass facade of the听听was invaded by a throng of picnickers dressed in white and elegantly nibbling from white china plates.

Was it performance art? An extreme response to Zombie Flash Mobs?听A cult?

Mais, non.

D卯ner en Blanc had arrived in Boston.听

听(Dinner in White) first began in Paris in 1988 when Frenchman听Fran莽ois Pasquier wanted to call together long lost friends by having them听meet for a picnic in the听, the equivalent of New York鈥檚 Central Park. One requirement: They must dress in white so they could find each other in the crowd. The experience was so delightful, they repeated the picnic the following year, and every year after, inviting friends along the way until it bloomed into what it is today: A flash mob pop-up dinner society that draws more than 14,000 picnickers to distinguished city landmarks around the world kept secret until an hour before the meal is to begin.

The combination of elegance and mystery under a midsummer鈥檚 night sky has proved so alluring that听D卯ner en Blanc听has expanded across 5 continents to more than 15 cities worldwide. Paris itself featured three different dinners over two days听this year.

New York鈥檚 inaugural event last year, the first in the United States,听drew 1,200 with 30,000 people on the waiting list. This year鈥檚 guest list has been expanded to 3,200 for their event held last night on Aug. 20 in听the courtyard of New York City's Lincoln Center.听The Boston event on Aug. 16 brought 650-700 picnickers down to the waterfront.

I received an e-mail in mid July 听鈥� so nondescript that I almost overlooked it 鈥� with an invitation to become a member of Boston鈥檚 D卯ner en Blanc.听D卯ner en Blanc uses听a system of membership, guest sponsorship, and a waiting list to send out invitations.

I invited my friend Lisa, a true Francophile and a foodie to join me.听We began to divvy up the details for meeting the evening鈥檚 requirements to wear white, dress elegantly, and assemble the following to carry to the mystery picnic spot:

• A folding square dining table 听+ 2 white folding chairs;
• A white bag or a white picnic basket (or covered with a white fabric) containing your dinner items as the following听 items :
  听
  • white tablecloth and 2 white cloth napkin
  • 2 white plates + 2 white plates for dessert (non disposable)
  • 2 sets of cutlery (plastic prohibited)
  • 2 glasses (plastic prohibited)
  • 1 complete meal, including: 1 first course, 1 main course, 1 final course (cheese, dessert, etc)
  • 1 white trash bag

A simple picnic, mais bien s没r mes amis!

We could elect to either arrive by public transportation (the subway) or by bus, for a few dollars more. Anticipating that we would be highly uncoordinated trying to navigate a full picnic basket and two chairs and a table, I signed us up for the bus. Then we turned our attention to more important things.

Such as, where to buy a white hat. And of course, a new white dress,听tr猫s chic.

On the evening of Aug. 20, we met Zach, our group leader, at the appointed time in front of a cathedral in the South End and quietly filed onto the bus with a group of strangers all decked out in white. We were oddly shy, surprising since any passerby immediately lumped us together: 鈥淲hat is this, a wedding?鈥�

I had a hunch we鈥檇 be heading down to the waterfront, and we did. As we wheezed our way through the downtown streets we passed groups of people in white emerging from various subway stations. The demure masses carried听tables, picnic baskets, balloons, and even a parasol.听Ooo la la!

Eventually, once assembled at our final meeting place, we all fell into line and rounded the corner to the courthouse. It was a beautiful setting. A green lawn stretched out to the boardwalk. Boats bobbed peacefully in the inky harbor water, lights twinkling. The night air was perfect 鈥� partly cloudy, 77 degrees, with no disturbing wind.

Lisa and I were flanked by other women also picnicking with their female friends.听How did you hear about this? we asked. One person said, Twitter, another said she stumbled across it on a website.

As we set up our tables, our votive candles, and bouquets of flowers, a cellist elbowed jazz riffs on a stage. We twirled our white napkins overhead (a D卯ner en Blanc tradition) and ate our five course meal as听a French band called C鈥檈st Si Bon performed. Then came a DJ and we all got up to dance beneath giant white balloons hung from low branches in the trees. Si, c鈥檈st tr猫s bon.

Alas, one visual treat of听D卯ner en Blanc was omitted: No sparklers, usually held aloft to signal that the dancing will begin. Massachusetts doesn鈥檛 allow fireworks. Zut alors!

At 10:30 came the call to pack up and just as quickly as we had appeared we vanished like wisps of white mist.听

It was a huge undertaking to be sure. To听Angela Giovine, Wendy Goldstein, and Zach Taranto, the organizers of Boston鈥檚 event, we lift our white hats in gratitude.

Bravo! Encore, s鈥檌l vous plait!

For a slideshow of the event and a menu of what was in our picket basket, visit .