August 18, 2022
HughE Dillon/For PhillyVoice
The secret location for the 10th anniversary Dîner en Blanc was revealed to be Logan Square. The exclusive party, which requires guests to dress in all white and bring their own food, took place at the same location in 2012. The photo above is a file photo from a previous year's party.
Love it or hate it, Dîner en Blanc descends upon Philadelphia on Thursday night, and the secret location for the "chic picnic" finally has been revealed.
The site for this year's event is ... drumroll, please ... Logan Circle!
Guests decked out in glamorous, all-white outfits began arriving at the public space around 6:30 p.m., Philadelphia photographer HughE Dillon tweeted.
#trafficalert Diner en Blanc is at Logan Circle. pic.twitter.com/O6FWz7OSQe
— PhillyChitChat (@HughE_Dillon) August 18, 2022
This choice in location brings the 10th anniversary event full-circle, as Logan Square is the same spot where the first Dîner en Blanc took place in Philadelphia back in 2012.
Logan Circle, at 19th Street and the Ben Franklin Parkway within Center City's Logan Square neighborhood, is an outdoor space flanked by museums. The circular park features the majestic Swann Memorial Fountain, which punctuated the first-ever dining event.
To date, the spectacle-creating event has been held at nine different public locations in the city: the JFK Boulevard Bridge, Avenue of the Arts, Navy Yard, Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, Franklin Square, City Hall/Thomas Paine Plaza, Boathouse Row and Rittenhouse Square.
Dîner en Blanc was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Philly may have hosted the outdoor dinner party for the first time 10 years ago, but the event's history dates decades earlier to a gathering of friends in 1988 Paris, France. In June, the event was held for the first time in Atlantic City.
Each year, tickets to the exclusive event sell out, and there is a waitlist to even be considered for an invite.
The rules for the night are relatively straightforward: Wear white and bring your own food, drinks (no hard liquor or beer), cutlery, chairs, tables and picnic baskets.
Along with enjoying a meal with friends, tonight's guests will light sparklers, hit the dance floor and enjoy live entertainment by more than 75 musicians and performers.
Tonight's forecast promises clear skies and temperatures around 65 degrees, so all who attend the event should relish in a pleasant night under the stars, and those who aren't fans now know to steer clear of Logan Circle.
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