Diner en Blanc Vancouver - Media Summary September 14,...

Diner en Blanc Vancouver - Media Summary September 14, 2012

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NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES Publication Name

Publication Date

Coverage Title/ Comment Link

24 Hours Vancouver

Aug 7, 2012 Travelgear See - sample clippings

BC Business Magazine

Sept 4, 2012 The Social List http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/people/diner-en-blanc-2012

Calgary Herald Aug 24, 2012 Syndicated Vancouver Sun: Where will Diner en Blanc take place?

http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Where+will+Diner+Blanc+take+place/7141695/story.html

Calgary Herald Aug 27, 2012 Syndicated Vancouver Sun: Secret supper Diner en Blanc sets tables in Vancouver for the first time

http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Diner+Blanc+White+night+diners+saut%C3%A9ed+secrecy/7141743/story.html

Cariboo Press Sept 5, 2012 Dining event offers shades of glamour See - sample clippings ELLE Magazine (Online)

Aug 27, 2012 This week’s happenings: 4 see-them-while-you-can events to catch this week

http://www.ellecanada.com/blog/2012/08/27/this-weeks-happenings-4-see-them-while-you-can-events-to-catch-this-week-2/

Georgia Straight Aug 2, 2012 At elegant pop-up French dinner in Vancouver, everyone will wear white

http://www.straight.com/article-746756/vancouver/elegant-popup-french-dinner-vancouver-everyone-will-wear-white

Georgia Straight Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc is spectacular in white in Vancouver: photos

http://www.straight.com/article-768566/vancouver/d%C3%AEner-en-blanc-spectacular-white-vancouver-photos

Georgia Straight Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc is spectacular in white in Vancouver: photos

http://www.straight.com/article-768566/vancouver/d%C3%AEner-en-blanc-spectacular-white-vancouver-photos

Globe and Mail (Online)

Sept 7, 2012 In praise of the moveable feast http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/restaurant-reviews/in-praise-of-the-movable-feast/article4528204/?service=mobile

La Source; The Aug 7, 2012 Lancement du “Dîner en Blanc” à Vancouver http://thelasource.com/fr/2012/08/07/lancement-du-diner-en-blanc-a-vancouver/

Metro - Vancouver Aug 1, 2012 Ultimate Parisian Picnic Diner en Blanc coming to Vancouver Aug. 30

http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/320909/ultimate-parisian-picnic-diner-en-blanc-coming-to-vancouver-aug-30/

Metro - Vancouver Aug 31, 2012 Slideshow: Dîner en Blanc showcases ‘Vancouver at its best’

http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/354648/diner-en-blanc-showcases-vancouver-at-its-best/

North Shore News Sept 5, 2012 The Dish http://www.nsnews.com/life/dish/7191464/story.html



North Shore News Sept 5, 2012 Diner en Blanc fro 1,200 (also front cover banner) http://www.canada.com/D%C3%AEner+Blanc/7189967/story.html

Postmedia Network: Canada.com

Aug 24, 2012 Syndicated Vancouver Sun: Where will Diner en Blanc take place?

http://www.canada.com/travel/Where+will+Diner+Blanc+take+place/7141695/story.html

Postmedia Network: Canada.com

Aug 31, 2012 Syndicated Vancouver Sun: Diner en Blanc Elegant throngs of white-clad foodies descended en masse to downtown Vancouver Thursday night for the city’s first Diner en Blanc event.

http://www.canada.com/news/vancouver/Photo+Gallery+Diner+Blanc/7170812/story.html

Province; The Sept 9, 2012 Fred Lee's Social Network: Pop-Up Party http://www.theprovince.com/news/todays-paper/Fred+social+network/7213605/story.html

Province, The Aug 31, 2012 Jack Poole Plaza hosts first Diner en Blanc in Vancouver

http://www.theprovince.com/Jack+Poole+Plaza+hosts+first+Diner+Blanc+Vancouver/7172269/story.html

Province; The Aug 31, 2012 1,200 people show up for Vancouver's first edition of Diner en Blanc

http://www.theprovince.com/people+show+Vancouver+first+edition+Diner+Blanc/7170306/story.html

Province; The Aug 31, 2012 Tales from a Bar Stool: Diner en Blanc captures hearts in Vancouver

http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/08/31/diner-en-blanc-captures-hearts-in-vancouver/

Province; The Aug 30, 2012 Photo Gallery: Diner en Blanc Elegant throngs of white-clad foodies descended en masse to downtown. Vancouver Thursday night for the city’s first Diner en Blanc event.

http://www.theprovince.com/Photo+Gallery+Diner+Blanc/7170812/story.html

Province; The Aug 27, 2012 Dancer swayed by flamenco history http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/Dancer+swayed+flamenco+history/7149127/story.html

Province; The Aug 26, 2012 Eventscape: Plan your week with our picks http://www.theprovince.com/news/Eventscape/7146692/story.html

Province; The Aug 25, 2012 Eventscape: Gotye in concert, Raptor Fest in Richmond

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Eventscape+Gotye+concert+Raptor+Fest+Richmond/7145407/story.html

Province; The Aug 23, 2012 E-List http://www.theprovince.com/travel/list/7132126/story.html

Province; The Aug 23, 2012 EventScape: Cirque du Soleil, Bumbershoot and the Pop-up Soda Shoppe

http://www.theprovince.com/news/EventScape+Cirque+Soleil+Bumbershoot+Soda+Shoppe/7136007/story.html

Province; The Aug 16, 2012 E–List http://www.theprovince.com/travel/List/7098497/story.html



SNAP Downtown Vancouver

Oct 2012 Editor confirmed a full page – society feature (print & online).

Not published yet.

Vancouver Courier Aug 24, 2012 Bites in white http://www.vancourier.com/Bites+white+cotton/7138616/story.html

Vancouver Courier Aug 24, 2012 In This Issue http://www.vancourier.com/sports/This+Issue/7138592/story.html

Vancouver Courier Sept 7, 2012 Fred Unleeshed – White out http://www.vancourier.com/Fred+UnLEEshed+September+2012/7208901/story.html

Vancouver Magazine

Aug 2, 2012 Le Dîner en Blanc (Newsletter Feature) http://www.vanmag.com/newsletter/2012W31/index.htl

Vancouver Magazine

Jan/Feb 2013 Most Memorable Dinners 2012 Not published yet.

Vancouver Sun (Online)

May 11, 2012 Le Diner en Blanc, coming to Vancouver http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/05/11/le-diner-en-blanc-coming-to-vancouver/

Vancouver Sun May 12, 2012 Putting on the ritz for big Vancouver dinner http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Putting+ritz+Vancouver+dinner/6611651/story.html


July 18, 2012 Mia Diner-Blanc http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/07/18/20-summer-treats-a-la-vancouver/mia-diner-blanc/

Vancouver Sun July 20, 2012 20 Crazy Good-tastes of Summer http://www.vancouversun.com/life/crazy+good+tastes+summer/6966732/story.html

Vancouver Sun July 20, 2012 20 awesome tastes of summer http://www.vancouversun.com/life/awesome+tastes+summer/6966433/story.html

Vancouver Sun Aug 24, 2012 Secret supper Diner en Blanc sets tables in Vancouver for the first

http://www.vancouversun.com/Diner+Blanc+Night+thousand+diners/7141743/story.html

Vancouver Sun Aug 24, 2012 Where will Diner en Blanc take place? http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Where+will+Diner+Blanc+take+place/7141695/story.html

Vancouver Sun Aug 24, 2012 Ephemeral Eating Experience See - sample clippings

Vancouver Sun Aug 24, 2012 White night dining event sautéed in secrecy http://www.vancouversun.com/White+night+dining+event+saut%C3%A9ed+secrecy/7144577/story.html

Vancouver Sun Aug 25, 2012 Night of a thousand diners; Exclusive French culinary event comes to Vancouver for the first time (Front cover banner; Front cover Arts & Life Section + 1/2 page)

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Night+thousand+diners/7144560/story.html



Vancouver Sun Aug 29, 2012 Photos: Vancouver's Diner en Blanc Hundreds of people, dressed only in white, gathered for a picnic dinner at Vancouver's Jack Poole Plaza for the flash mob event ʺLe Diner en Blanc.ʺ

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2012-summer-games/Vancouver+Diner+Blanc/7170750/story.html

Vancouver Sun Aug 31, 2012 Secret supper Diner en Blanc sets tables in Vancouver for the first time

http://www.vancouversun.com/Secret+supper+Diner+Blanc+sets+tables+Vancouver+first+time/7141743/story.html#ixzz25LuBv9pj

Vancouver Sun Aug 31, 2012 Waves of white at Vancouver's Diner en Blanc http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Waves+white+Vancouver+Diner+Blanc/7170841/story.html

Vancouver Sun Aug 31, 2012 Video: The first Vancouver ʺLe Diner en Blancʺ http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Video+first+Vancouver+Diner+Blanc/7176166/story.html


Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc in Vancouver - Flashmob http://blogs.vancouversun.com/tag/flashmob/


Aug 31, 2012 Charcut http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/08/31/diner-en-blanc-in-vancouver/charcut/


Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc in Vancouver http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/08/31/diner-en-blanc-in-vancouver/charcut/

Vancouver Sun Sept 1, 2012 Diner en Blanc evokes glamour of court society; That is, until wine bottles are emptied and flashmobsters dance the night away

http://www.vancouversun.com/Diner+Blanc+evokes+glamour+court+society/7178878/story.html

Vancouver Sun Sept 4, 2012 Vancouver events: Janes Addiction, Gotye, Linkin Park and more

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Vancouver+events+Janes+Addiction+Gotye+Linkin+Park+more/7163752/story.html

WE Westender Sept 6,2012 Who was out after dark in Vancouver? http://www.wevancouver.com/lifestyle/168836046.html

Some print sources are hard paper and/ or duplicated online. While some print sources will run content online only. We have attempted to separate, but there may be some cross-over of categories. In addition, you will see that some stories are syndicated from the original source – if repeats of the story are done by a notable source we have documented that so that you can account for the additional reader volume.



BLOGS & ONLINE MISC Publication Name

Publication Date

Coverage Title/ Comment Link

604 Foodtography Aug 31, 2012 Sought After Dîner en Blanc Comes To Vancouver

http://604now.com/2012/08/sought-after-diner-en-blanc-comes-to-vancouver/

604 Now Aug 7, 2012 Sought After Dîner en Blanc Comes To Vancouver

http://604now.com/2012/08/sought-after-diner-en-blanc-comes-to-vancouver/

604 Now Sept 1, 2012 Highlights From Dîner en Blanc Vancouver http://604now.com/2012/09/highlights-from-diner-en-blanc-vancouver/

Alliance Francaise July 2012 Dîner en Blanc à Vancouver http://alliancefrancaise.ca/cul-events BC Vernon Aug 31, 2012 Waves of white at Vancouver’s Diner en Blanc http://bcvernon.ca/2012/08/waves-of-white-at-

vancouvers-diner-en-blanc/ Big Story News June 2, 2012 Le Diner en Blanc, coming to Vancouver http://bigstorynews.com/restaurants/le-diner-en-

blanc-coming-to-vancouver/ Breaking Local News

Aug 24, 2012 Breaking Local News http://breakinglocalnews.ca/secret-supper-diner-en-blanc-sets-tables-in-vancouver-for-the-first-time/791083

Breaking Local News

Aug 31, 2012 Video: The first Vancouver ʺLe Diner en Blancʺ http://breakinglocalnews.ca/video-the-first-vancouver-le-diner-en-blanc-35/815277

Breaking News Vancouver

Aug 2012 Syndicate: Good Life Vancouver “Dîner en Blanc® - Canada's Most Sought After SECRET Event Comes to Vancouver

http://news.breakingvancouvernews.com/tweets/230787752252289024

Citizenside Aug 30, 2012 Vancouver hosts its first ʺDiner en Blancʺ http://www.citizenside.com/en/photos/spot-news/2012-08-30/66633/vancouver-hosts-its-first-diner-en-blanc.html#f=0/547049

Daily XY Aug 1, 2012 Sports + Health http://www.dailyxy.com/article/vancouvers-deighton-cup/

Discover Vancouver

Aug 3, 2012 Dîner en Blanc Comes to Vancouver, Featuring Top Chef Dale Mackay

http://www.discovervancouver.com/article/0812/diner-en-blanc-2012-vancouver-canada.html

Discover Vancouver

Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc - what did you think? http://www.discovervancouver.com/forum/t/diner-en-blanc-vancouver-what-did-you-think

Discover Vancouver

Aug 31, 2012 Premiere Le Dîner en Blanc Vancouver at Jack Poole Plaza on August 30, 2012

http://www.discovervancouver.com/article/0812/premiere-le-diner-en-blanc-vancouver-at-jack-poole-plaza-on-august-30-2012.html

Elastic Pant City Aug 16, 2012 City Circus | Hot and Happening http://elasticpantcity.blogspot.ca/2012/08/city-circus-hot-and-happening.html

Follow Me Foodie Sept 3, 2012 Diner en Blanc in Vancouver! http://www.followmefoodie.com/2012/09/diner-en-blanc-in-vancouver/



Good Life Vancouver

Aug 1, 2012 Diner en Blanc - Canada's most sought after secret event comes to Vancouver

http://goodlifevancouver.com/diner-en-blanc%C2%AE-canada%E2%80%99s-most-sought-after-secret-event-comes-to-vancouver/

Hello Vancity Aug 30, 2012 Photos: Diner en Blanc Vancouver at the Jack Poole Plaza, Vancouver Convention Centre on August 30, 2012

http://www.hellovancity.com/2012/08/30/photos-diner-en-blanc-vancouver-at-the-jack-poole-plaza-vancouver-convention-centre-on-august-30-2012/

Hello Vancity Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc Vancouver at the Jack Poole Plaza, Vancouver Convention Centre on August 30, 2012

http://www.hellovancity.com/2012/08/30/photos-diner-en-blanc-vancouver-at-the-jack-poole-plaza-vancouver-convention-centre-on-august-30-2012/

Huffington Post British Columbia

Aug 31, 2012 Diner En Blanc Vancouver: Diners Decked Out In White Descend On Downtown

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/08/30/diner-en-blanc-vancouver_n_1845331.html

Inagist Aug 30, 2012 There's a suspiciously large number of diners in white tonight. Wait a second, is Diner En Blanc's secret location my sushi bar??

http://inagist.com/all/241140350503251968/

Inside Vancouver Aug 28, 2012 Diner en Blanc – Global Secret Dinner Party http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2012/08/28/secret-outdoor-dinner-for-1200-people-in-downtown-vancouver-diner-en-blanc-aug-30/

Inside Vancouver Aug 28, 2012 Secret outdoor dinner for 1,200 people in downtown Vancouver: Diner en Blanc, Aug. 30

http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2012/08/28/secret-outdoor-dinner-for-1200-people-in-downtown-vancouver-diner-en-blanc-aug-30/

Iron Mountain Movement

Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc Vancouver http://www.ironmountainmovement.com/diner-en-blanc-vancouver

Iron Mountain Movement

Aug 31, 2012 Diner En Blanc Vancouver: Diners Decked Out In White Descend On Downtown

http://www.ironmountainmovement.com/diner-en-blanc-vancouver

Jonny Picture Aug 2012 Diner en Blanc Vancouver http://www.jonnypicture.com/#/event-galleries/2012/diner-en-blanc-vancouver/DEB43

Laurentmunier Aug 31, 2012 [PICS] Diner en Blanc Vancouver – Inaugural Event Recap

http://laurentmunier.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/pics-diner-en-blanc-vancouver-inaugural-event-recap/

Mallvibes Aug 2012 Diner en Blanc Vancouver http://www.mallvibes.com/threads/diner-en-blanc-vancouver.28275/

Me Plus Food Aug 2012 Diner en Blanc comes to Vancouver http://www.meplusfood.com/food-news/diner-en-blanc

Modern Mix Vancouver

Aug 31, 2012 Vancouver’s Inaugural Dîner en Blanc at the Convention Centre

http://modernmixvancouver.com/index.php/2012/08/31/vancouvers-inaugural-diner-en-blanc-at-the-convention-centre/

Notable Aug 24, 2012 Notable Now Vancouver: August 24, 2012 http://www.notable.ca/vancouver/metro/Notable-Now-Vancouver-August-24-2012/

Notable Aug 29, 2012 What to Wear to Vancouver's Diner En Blanc http://notable.ca/vancouver/yp-life/What-to-Wear-to-Vancouvers-Diner-En-Blanc/



Notable Sept 4, 2012 Event Recap: Diner en Blanc Vancouver http://notable.ca/vancouver/yp-life/Event-Recap-Diner-en-Blanc-Vancouver/

One Stop News Stand

Aug 2012 Secret supper Diner en Blanc pops up in Vancouver

http://onestopnewsstand.com/vancouver/secret-supper-diner-en-blanc-pops-up-in-vancouver

Pangcouver Aug 2012 Diner en Blanc – Jack Poole Plaza 3 http://www.pangcouver.com/2012/09/02/diner-en-blanc-vancouver-2012-secret-dining-pop-up-flash-mob/p1040185-1/

Pangcouver Aug 2012 Dîner en Blanc Vancouver 2012 – Secret Dining Pop-Up Flash Mob

http://www.pangcouver.com/2012/09/02/diner-en-blanc-vancouver-2012-secret-dining-pop-up-flash-mob/p1040185-1/

Recent News Aug 31, 2012 Waves of white at Vancouver's Diner en Blanc http://www.recentnews.ca/waves-of-white-at-vancouvers-diner-en-blanc/

Rick Chung Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc Vancouver x Secret dinner x Jack Poole Plaza

http://www.rickchung.com/2012/08/diner-en-blanc-vancouver-2012.html

Senses Inspired Aug 31, 2012 Dîner en Blanc Vancouver http://www.sensesinspired.com/2012/08/diner-en-blanc-vancouver/

Sidewalk Ballet; The

Aug 22, 2012 Dîner en Blanc Coming to Vancouver http://www.thesidewalkballet.com/2012/08/diner-en-blanc-coming-to-vancouver.html

SmokySweet Aug 31, 2012 Vancouver’s Dîner en Blanc http://smokysweet.com/dining/vancouvers-diner-en-blanc/

Social Life; The Sept 5, 2012 Diner en Blanc x Joshua Langston http://the-sociallife.com/the-social-life-diner-en-blanc-vancouver/

Sweet or Weak Aug 29, 2012 Secret supper Diner en Blanc sets tables in Vancouver for the aboriginal time

http://www.beta.sweetorweak.com/node/14370

Topix Aug 25, 2012 Secret supper Diner en Blanc sets tables in Vancouver for the first time

http://www.topix.com/travel/canada/2012/08/secret-supper-diner-en-blanc-sets-tables-in-vancouver-for-the-first-time

Vancity Buzz Aug 13, 2012 Diner en Blanc – Global Secret Dinner Party http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2012/08/diner-en-blanc-vancouverglobal-secret-dinner-party/

Vancity Buzz Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc Vancouver Photos http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2012/08/diner-en-blanc-vancouver-photos-convention-centre/

Vancouver Homes Aug 2012 Dîner en Blanc – Vancouver http://jaybanks.ca/blogroll/2012/08/22/diner-blanc-vancouver/

Vancouver Is Awesome

Sept 3, 2012 Dîner en Blanc 2012! http://vancouverisawesome.com/2012/09/03/diner-en-blanc-2012/

Vancouver News Aug 24, 2012 Secret supper Diner en Blanc sets tables in Vancouver for the first

http://vancouver-news.net/vancouver-sun/secret-supper-diner-en-blanc-sets-tables-in-vancouver-for-the-first-time/



Vancouver Weekly Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc 2012 – Elegance beneath a full Moon

http://www.vancouverweekly.com/diner-en-blanc-2012-elegance-beneath-a-full-moon/

Wet Coast Wander Aug 3, 2012 Le diner en blanc http://wetcoastwanderer.blogspot.ca/2012/08/le-diner-en-blanc_3.html

Yelp Aug 2012 Dinner en Blanc - Vancouver Edition http://www.yelp.ca/topic/vancouver-dinner-en-blanc-vancouver-edition

Yelp Aug 2012 PopLuck Diner non Blanc http://www.yelp.ca/events/vancouver-popluck-diner-non-blanc

Yours QFT Aug 2012 At elegant pop-up French dinner in Vancouver, everyone will wear white

http://www.yoursqft.com/at-elegant-pop-up-french-dinner-in-vancouver-everyone-will-wear-white-vancouver-canada-straight-com/

RADIO Publication Name Publication

Date Coverage Title/ Comment Link

99.3 The Fox (CFOX-FM 99.3) Aug 2012 Interview: Tyson Villeneuve MP3 being sent

Team 1410 (CFTE-AM 1410AM)

Sept 15, 2012 Tasting Room with Terry Mulligan Interview: Tyson Villeneuve

Clip available for purchase

AM 650 (CISL-AM 650) Aug 23, 2012 Tony and Kasey: Best of Food and Wine Interview: TysonVilleneuve

http://www.am650radio.com/Episodes.aspx?PID=1745

AM 980 (CKNW-AM 980 AM) Aug 1, 2012 Weekend Morning News with Jill Bennett Interview: Tyson Villeneuve


CBC French (CBUF-FM 97.7) Aug 2012 Denis Grenier – Interviewed: Tyson Villeneuve Clip available for purchase

CBC French (CBUF-FM 97.7) Aug 23, 2012 Francois Plorde – Interviewed: Tyson Villeneuve Clip available for purchase CBC Radio One (CBU-AM 690)

Aug 30, 2012 Le Diner en Blanc, c'est ce soir Evelyne Charuest – Interviewed: Tyson Villeneuve

http://www.radio-canada.ca/audio-video/pop.shtml#urlMedia=http://www.radio-canada.ca/Medianet/2012/CBUF/Unphareenete201208300739.asx

CKUA-FM 94.9 (CKUA-FM 94.9) Alberta

Sept 12, 2012 Tasting Room with Terry Mulligan Interviewed: Tyson Villeneuve


QM/FM 103.5 (CHQM-FM 103.5)

Aug 31, 2012 Mike & Tara Show 6:50 a.m. Interviewed: Tyson Villeneuve

MP3 on file

iTunes Podcast TBC Tasting Room with Terry Mulligan Interviewed: Tyson Villeneuve

Not aired yet. http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/tastingroomradio-trr-archive/id271587103



TV Publication Name Publication


CityTV (CKVU-DT) Aug 31, 2012 Breakfast Television - Clip of not permitting camera on site (this

clip also talked about on various radio) - Interviewed Tyson Villeneuve


CTV (CIVT-TV) Aug 31, 2012 CTV Morning Live – Cooking with Dale Mckay See - sample clippings (transcript)

CTV (CIVT-TV) Aug 31, 2012 CTV Morning Live – Diner en Blanc See – sample clippings (transcript)

CTV.ca Aug 30, 2012 Live Coverage – including twitter 30K followers Not Available http://www.radio-canada.ca/audio-video/pop.shtml#urlMedia=http://www.radio-canada.ca/Medianet/2012/CBUF/Unphareenete201208300739.asx

CTV.ca Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc lights up Vancouver See - sample clippings

CTV.ca Aug 31, 2012 “Diner en Blanc “ phenomenon hitting Vancouver See - sample clippings

CTV (CIVT-TV) Aug 31, 2012 Noon News Hour – Now Trending MP3 on file

Global BC (CHAN-DT) Aug 25, 2012 Saturday Morning News – Diner en Blanc See - sample clippings (MP3 on file)

Global BC (CHAN-DT) Aug 25, 2012 News Hour Final – Diner en Blanc See sample clipping below (MP3 on file)

Global BC (CHAN-DT) Aug 31, 2012 News Hour - Diner en Blanc in Vancouver (Flash Mob Story)

http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/diner+en+blanc+in+vancouver/video.html?v=2274994997#stories/video

Global BC (CHAN-DT) Aug 31, 2012 Morning News Hour – Diner en Blanc See - sample clipping (transcript)

Global BC (CHAN-DT) Aug 31, 2012 Morning News Hour – Diner en Blanc See - sample clipping (transcript)

Global BC (CHAN-DT) Aug 31, 2012 Noon News Hour – Diner en Blanc See - sample clipping (transcript)



Global BC (CHBC-TV) Okanagan

Aug 25, 2012 Syndicated by Global BC (CHAN–DT) Saturday Morning News – Diner en Blanc

See - sample clipping (MP3 on file)

Global BC(CHBC-TV) Okanagan

Aug 31, 2012 Syndicated by Global BC (CHAN-DT) Morning News Hour – Diner en Blanc

See – sample clippings (transcript)

Global BC (CHBC – TV) Okanagan

Aug 31, 2012 Noon News Hour – Diner En Blanc See - sample clippings (transcript)


Aug 31, 2012 News Hour – Diner en Blanc See sample clipping below (transcript)


Aug 31, 2012 News Hour Final – Diner en Blanc See sample clipping below (transcript)

globaltvbc.com Aug 31, 2012 Diner en Blanc takes over Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver

http://www.globaltvbc.com/diner+en+blanc+takes+over+jack+poole+plaza+in+vancouver/6442706759/story.html

Novus TV Sept 14, 2012 City Lights Waterfront Group > Full Event Coverage Interviewed: Misc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-tjpBW_2ps&feature=em-uploademail

Shaw TV Sept 5, 2012 Diner en Blanc in Vancouver on go! Vancouver http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nal8Fa97Tgg

Telus TV Sept 2012 MyVancouver Yaletown Group > Full Event Coverage Interviewed: Misc


SOCIAL MEDIA Publication Name Publication


Online Newsroom: Social Media versions of Press Releases

July 31, 2012

Dîner en Blanc® - Canada’s Most Sought After SECRET Event Comes to Vancouver

http://pitchengine.com/dinerenblancvancouver/diner-en-blanc--canadas-most-sought-after-secret-event-comes-to-vancouver

Vancouver Trending Aug 31, 2012 #2 DEBvan #6 diner (re: Diner en Blan)

See - sample clippings



SAMPLE CLIPPINGS

In praise of the movable feast; Dîner en Blanc is just one of many ephemeral food events that have been popping up all over the city The Globe and Mail Sat Sep 8 2012 Page: S3 Section: British Columbia News: Column Byline: Alexandra Gill Dateline: VANCOUVER

VANCOUVER -- Hours before last week's Dîner en Blanc was set to start, snowy puffs of people all dressed in white began drifting through downtown Vancouver. Almost everywhere you looked, opalescent balloons floated along sidewalks and bleached feathers flew from taxis.

I was right there in the middle of the flash mob (wearing a bridal-like skirt suit), wheeling a trolley stacked with fold-up chairs, a card table and baskets of ivory linen, crystal glasses and antique silverware. Pedestrians stared. Drivers honked. One perplexed woman grabbed my arm. "Are you getting married?" she asked. "Where is everyone going?"

That was the big secret. After weeks of anticipation, the 1,200 guests who had scored tickets to Vancouver's most extravagant pop-up dinner party gathered at meeting points around the city. Gradually, we were all led to the surprise destination - Jack Poole Plaza - cascading like a frothy waterfall around the Olympic cauldron.

Dîner en Blanc, which began 25 years ago as a chic Parisian picnic for a handful of friends, has exploded into an international phenomenon with more than 15,000 members in 17 cities. The sophisticated French soirée was a first for Vancouver. But given that 4,000-plus names were on the waiting list, it won't likely be the last.

Although the most majestic of its kind, Dîner en Blanc is just one of many ephemeral food events that have been popping up all over the city. From one- night soda shoppes to secret dinners where mainstream chefs get to play around with lamb brains, the growing popularity of pop-up restaurants seems to be feeding a collective appetite for culinary adventure.

"People in Vancouver are easily bored," says Robin Kort, founder of the Swallow Tail Supper Club, which organizes elaborately themed pop-ups about once a month. "Everyone here loves eating out at restaurants, but they're always looking for new experiences."

In the past year, Swallow Tail has transported diners to tropical tiki pig roasts; led them "Down the Rabbit Hole" to a surreal Wonderland setting, where forks spiked with cheese hors d'oeuvres hung from the ceiling; and brought them back to the future at a 1950s soda-fountain festival.



"People want to dress up in poodle skirts, drink boozy milk shakes and tell their friends stories about the restaurant that was there, and then it was gone, " Ms. Kort explains.

Judging by the ebullient vibe at Dîner en Blanc, pop-ups also provide an opportunity for buttoned-down Vancouverites to bust out of their comfort zones and make new friends.

"Joie de vivre is the essence of French dining culture," says event organizer Tyson Villeneuve. "In France, bistro tables are set very close together. You always end up sharing a glass of wine with the people beside you. It's about living in the moment."

Of course, you don't need 1,200 people, $100 tickets ($30 if you brought your own meal) and an eight-piece flamenco band to break bread with strangers. Since 2009, a group called Alfresco Tonight has organized potluck picnics that have popped up in parks and along seawalls all over Vancouver. Everyone is invited and the entry is free.

At Le Marché St. George, a funky café and grocery store in an East End heritage home, that communal spirit is fostered through one-off dinners in a homey upstairs apartment and family-style Italian suppers in the backyard. "The Italian nights are pretty romantic," says shop owner Janaki Larsen. "It's a big mish-mash of people. The kids run around with our chickens. And after dinner, the chef pulls out his guitar."

For chefs, pop-up restaurants offer a chance to step outside their kitchen walls and mingle more intimately with diners (or create platforms for those that can't afford their own space), collaborate with other cooks and experiment with daring dishes.

"It means I get to cook with lamb brains," says David Gunawan, executive chef at Gastown's recently opened Wildebeest.

While waiting for the restaurant's delayed permit approvals, Mr. Gunawan launched ph5, an underground dinner series held in various locales at which he and several guest chefs shaved lamb brain over lamb tartare, served whole fermented cabbage heads in three different textures and smoked asparagus over hazelnut-tree branches. I'll bet his diners weren't bored.

In keeping with the pop-up genre's penchant for the unexpected, Dîner en Blanc turned out to be a surprise send-off for Dale MacKay. Three days before the event, the Top Chef Canada winner announced the closing of his two Vancouver restaurants.

Mr. MacKay's lackluster picnic boxes (stuffed with stale baguettes, watery gazpacho and overprocessed, single-note charcuterie) were the least memorable aspect of the night. Still, he deserves praise for not backing out. And it's good to remember that great dining experiences entail more than just food.

Thinking back to that night, what I most fondly recall are all the laughs shared with strangers, that magical minute when 1,200 sparklers lit up the sky and a sweet walk home through the shallow streets of Yaletown, where condo dwellers have perfected the art of averting eye contact in elevators.

Nearing my apartment, I passed a couple dressed in white spilling out of a taxi. They smiled, I smiled and we all winked at each other as if fellow members in a secret club. I'd probably never recognize them in the harsh light of day. But for that fleeting moment, Dîner en Blanc gave us a rare sense of connection.

© 2012 The Globe and Mail Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Le Diner en Blanc, coming to Vancouver vancouversun.com Friday, May 11, 2012 Mia Stainsby May 11, 2012

It’s as chic a flash mob as you’ll ever see. People suddenly appear in a major urban public space. They set up tables with gourmet food, china, cutlery. They eat, with good manners, of course. Then poof! They’re gone. The event, Le Diner en Blanc comes with rules: Everyone must dress in elegant white and bring a white tablecloth. The location is kept secret until shortly before the event. Men sit on one side and women on the other, for visual symmetry. The point of it? It’s a feast for all the senses. Le Diner en Blanc began 24 years ago in Paris; there it has grown to about 15,000 people a year. And this summer, more than 19 cities on five continents will be participating. And August 30 is Vancouver’s inaugural foray. “It’s exciting to challenge Vancouverites to indulge in something new and different,” says Tyson Villeneuve, of Social Concierge, a boutique event and branding agency in Vancouver. He and partner Jordan Kallman fell in love with the concept and are bringing it here “for the love of Vancouver,” he says. “It’s a city that loves great food and wine and we really want to celebrate the panorama, the views and the downtown core,” he says. “In other cities, they go all out and over the top. A lady in New York puts white feathers on her table and candelabras. Some bring white balloons,” he says, encouraging a white-out. The Le Diner en Blanc website explains the raison d’etre for the event: “[It] recalls the elegance and glamour of court society, and diners engage one another knowing they are taking part in a truly magical event.” Villeneuve says Vancouver participants will have the option of signing up for a dinner by Dale MacKay (Top Chef Canada and chef/owner of Ensemble Bistro and Ensemble Tap). Sound like fun? To be a part of it, go to vancouver.dinerenblanc.info/waiting.phph to register. There is a small fee for registering but it is non-profit event.



Putting on the ritz for big Vancouver dinner vancouversun.com Sat. May 12, 2012 Mia Stainsby It's as chic a flash mob as you'll ever see. People suddenly appear in a major urban public space. They set up tables with gourmet food, china, cutlery. They eat, with good manners, of course. Then, poof! They're gone.

The event, Le Diner en Blanc, comes with rules: Everyone must dress in elegant white and bring a white table-cloth. The location is kept secret until shortly before the event. Men sit on one side and women on the other, for visual symmetry. The point of it? It's a feast for all the senses.

Le Diner en Blanc began 24 years ago in Paris; there it has grown to about 15,000 people a year. And this summer, more than 19 cities on five continents will be participating. On Aug. 30, it will be Vancouver's inaugural foray. "It's exciting to challenge Vancouverites to indulge in something new and different," says Tyson Villeneuve, of Social Concierge, a boutique event and branding agency in Vancouver.

He and partner Jordan Kallman fell in love with the concept and are bringing it here "for the love of Vancouver," he says. "It's a city that loves great food and wine, and we really want to celebrate the panorama, the views and the down-town core," he says. "In other cities, they go all out and over the top. A lady in New York puts white feathers on her table and candelabras. Some bring white balloons," he says, encouraging a whiteout.

The Le Diner en Blanc web-site explains the raison d'être for the event: "[It] recalls the elegance and glamour of court society, and diners engage one another knowing they are taking part in a truly magical event." Villeneuve says Vancouver participants will have the option of signing up for a dinner by Dale MacKay (Top Chef Canada and chef/owner of Ensemble Bistro and Ensemble Tap).

Sound like fun? To be a part of it, go to vancouver.dineren-blanc.info to register. There is a small fee for registering, but it is a non-profit event.



Where will Diner en Blanc take place? Vancouver Sun Mon. August 24, 2012

Where exactly is Vancouver’s Notre Dame equivalent? Everyone knows the Coast Mountains are our cathedrals and the skyline towers our stately homes. So where are the likely spots for the dinner which encapsulates the soul of Vancouver?

Just as the London Olympics mastered Twitter silence on its opening ceremony lineup by appealing to a #savethesurprise hashtag, there appears to be no leak of the specific site. And no spoiler alert is needed for these guesses:

• Near the Vancouver Convention Centre

• Outside the Vancouver Art Gallery

• David Lam Park, Yaletown

• Concord Pacific Place

• Sunset Beach

• Stanley Park

• Near the Vancouver Public Library.



Vancouver Sun – Front Cover (Bottom Page Banner) Vancouver Sun - Cover of Arts & Life Section (3/4 Spread) August 25, 2012 Plus inside half page (Plus online version) August 25, 2012



White night dining event sautéed in secrecy Vancouver Sun Tuesday, August 25, 2012 Lucy Hyslop

In a world where everything is instantly tweeted and there's even a term for people who can-not live without their phones (nomophobia: a U.K. expression for no-mobile-phobia), surprises are rare. With those involved in organizing the Dîner en Blanc event signing non-disclosure documents, the secret is safe so far. "It's fun to have a little mystery in your life," says Tessa Sam, who owns the Sweet Bake Shop, a boutique dessert company in Vancouver. "I think it's going to feel like we're a team." Once the event starts, however, pop-up patron Dorian Banks predicts a minimum of 10,000 photos published over that four-hour period and, of course, the creation of a location on Four-square, the networking site. "It's going to be a huge blast of white on the Vancouver social media sites only delivered by 1,200 people," says the social-media professional. "It will be thrilling, weird and fun. Everyone is going to be wondering what the heck's going on and the imagery is going to be cool."

For fellow guest Jens Marquardt, being brought to a surprise location "is part of the whole package and it's new and unique for people here." He already experienced the world-wide phenomenon by happen-stance earlier this summer. On an evening stroll while visiting family in Paris, Marquardt crossed the River Seine and was tripped up by 15,000 people dressed in white - the universal, strictly-enforced dress code - in front of Notre Dame Cathedral.

"I just stood still for about five minutes not knowing what to say; I just couldn't believe it," he says thoughtfully. "It was a beautiful setup and a happy, peaceful scene. Open air is lovely and freeing."

When invitees sign up, they become members of international Dîner en Blanc group. The event is a private event, enabling organizers to obtain a liquor licence. (All wine and bubbly must be pre-ordered, however, unlike in other countries where people may turn up with their own booze.) Vancouver may not have Notre Dame as a backdrop, but organizer Tyson Villeneuve promises the chosen setting will be a "cool and iconic" location. "It will showcase Vancouver very well," he adds, "and everyone around the world would recognize it as this city."

While Paris's skyline was special, Marquardt, who runs Can-Thrill, a Vancouver-based event-marketing company, says what really worked was "the combination of people from all walks of life and different ages and all enjoying coming together with friends and strangers to share the same passions over food, wine and community." Witnessing this vignette of people "sharing the same spirit of an exceptional night" moved him to sign up as a group leader in Vancouver; now he will be in charge of meeting fellow diners - including his core group of 10 friends - and bringing them to the as-yet-unknown location. He himself will be told only hours before.



And, while he won't reveal his costume until the day, he says elegance is the main currency at these events - from elaborate outfits to glamorous hats. "Not just T-shirts and sneakers," he spurts, referring to Vancouver's propensity to dress down. "People crave unique moments to remember ... and it takes extra effort to create those."

With the vagaries of Vancouver weather (this is a rain or shine event), umbrellas are encouraged. Only in white, of course.

NATURE'S MAJESTY OR AN URBAN LANDMARK?

Where exactly is Vancouver's Notre Dame equivalent?

Everyone knows the Coast Mountains are our cathedrals and the skyline towers our stately homes. So where are the likely spots for a dinner that encapsulates the soul of Vancouver?

Just as the London Olympics mastered Twitter silence on its opening ceremony lineup by appealing to a #savethesurprise hashtag, there appears to be no leak of the specific site. And no

spoiler alert is needed for these guesses:

. Near the Vancouver Convention Centre

. Outside the Vancouver Art Gallery

. David Lam Park, Yaletown

. Concord Pacific Place

. Sunset Beach

. Stanley Park

. Near the Vancouver Public Library.

Night of a thousand diners; Exclusive French culinary event comes to Vancouver for the first time

Vancouver Sun Sat Aug 25 2012 Page: E1 / Front Section: Arts & Life Byline: Lucy Hyslop Column: Lucy Hyslop Source: Special To The Sun Think of them as the flashiest mob. Forget cream or ivory hues: You will spot them by their head-to-toe whiter-than-white regalia - oh, and that matching table and chair they'll be carrying, too. This elegant throng of 1,200 may not know where they are going as yet, but they do know they're handling tickets to one of Vancouver's hottest events. At around 6 p.m. on Aug. 30, they will be meeting in packs of around a hundred at allotted stations downtown and following a similarly monochromatic leader to set up their place setting at the secret site of Diner en Blanc.



The outdoor French culinary export is probably the most famous of the pop-up restaurants (as well as stores, bakeries et al) that shine brightly as part of the zeitgeist for all things temporary before fading away just as rapidly.

For example, this summer in London, England, people gravitated toward the idea of René Redzepi, chef of Noma, Copenhagen's vaunted restaurant, to engineer A Taste of Noma pop-up at Claridge's hotel in London; a couple of years ago the Kate Spade design group brand notably set up a temporary igloo in NYC's Bryant Park. Here in Vancouver, pop-ups are gaining traction, too: From a variety of underground and sup-per clubs such as Swallow Tail and temporary restaurants such as the Opus Hotel's One Hundred Days (now Cento Notti) to stores such as The Found & the Freed, which sells vintage knick-knacks.

The pop-up phenomenon is all about the experiential life, and this summer's Diner en Blanc is that writ large. A veritable once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dine in public on one night only - joining thousands who have joined the experience in 20 cities across five continents in the past 25 years. (Vancouver's certainly not the last to be invited to the party; Toronto also enjoys its inaugural dinner this year, although it has already charmed Montreal four times and Quebec City twice.)

"This fulfils a craving in humans to connect and be more social - despite all the screen life, we need to be face-to-face and have real, tactile, exciting experiences, too, in our life," explains Dorian Banks, a Yaletown resident who successfully applied for a ticket through its website.

As a peripatetic entrepreneur, he nearly made it to other events held in Rwanda and Singapore. Now he finds himself set to attend with his partner, Tessa Sam, in his own backyard where people have paid from around $30 (bringing your own picnic) to around $105 for pre-ordered wine and meal by Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay. All topped off with French entertainers, including Les Noces Gitanes.

It's an event that has tickled Vancouverites: the 1,200 signed up within a few weeks for the event brought in by local branding and marketing group The Social Concierge. (As for the current waiting list? It puts it at 4,000.) The event's exclusivity appeals to Banks, the founder of TikTok, the Vancouver-based mobile plat-form for deals.

"It's simply not that accessible," he adds. "It's not something you can do all the time, any time you want. It's a different and more grown-up experience which can-not be repeated."

Bringing it to Vancouver was obvious, according to organizer Tyson Villeneuve. "We have a sophisticated food and wine scene, with one of the highest rates for restaurants per capita in North America, and this kicks it up a notch with an extravagant display," he explains of the event that was 18 months in the creating. "It's all about connecting during the event, and being French it's all about the joie de vivre."

Illustration: • Arlen Redekop, PNG / Dorian Banks and Tessa Sam will be taking part in Diner en Blanc, a major pop-up public dinner event coming to Vancouver on Aug 30. They'll have to bring their own table, tablecloths and dress in white for the evening.

Edition: Final Length: 587 words Idnumber: 201208250134

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Secret supper Diner en Blanc sets tables in Vancouver for the first time vancouversun.com Monday, August 27, 2012 Lucy Hyslop Think of them as the flashiest mob. Forget cream or ivory hues: You will spot them by their head-to-toe whiter-than-white regalia – oh, and that matching table and chair they’ll be carrying too.

This elegant throng of 1,200 may not know where they are going as yet, but they do know they’re handling tickets to one of Vancouver’s hottest events. At around 6 p.m. on Aug. 30, they will be meeting in packs of around a hundred at allotted stations downtown and following a similarly monochromatic leader to set up their place setting at the secret site of Dîner en Blanc.

The outdoor French culinary export is probably the most famous of the pop-up restaurants (as well as stores, bakeries et al) that shine brightly as part of the zeitgeist for all things temporary before fading away just as rapidly.

For example, this summer in London, England, people gravitated toward the idea of René Redzepi, chef of Noma, Copenhagen’s vaunted restaurant, to engineer A Taste of Noma pop-up at Claridge’s hotel in London; a couple of years ago the Kate Spade design group brand notably set up a temporary igloo in NYC’s Bryant Park. Here in Vancouver, pop-ups are gaining traction, too: From a variety of underground and supper clubs such as Swallow Tail and temporary restaurants such as the Opus Hotel’s One Hundred Days (now Cento Notti) to stores such as The Found & the Freed, which sells vintage knick-knacks.

The pop-up phenomenon is all about the experiential life, and this summer’s Dîner en Blanc is that writ large. A veritable once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dine in public on one night only — joining thousands who have joined the experience in 20 cities across five continents in the past 25 years. (Vancouver’s certainly not the last to be invited to the party; Toronto also enjoys its inaugural dinner this year, although it has already charmed Montreal four times and Quebec City twice.)

“This fulfills a craving in humans to connect and be more social — despite all the screen life, we need to be face- to-face and have real, tactile, exciting experiences too in our life,” explains Dorian Banks, a Yaletown resident who successfully applied for a ticket through its website.

As a peripatetic entrepreneur, he nearly made it to other events held in Rwanda and Singapore. Now he finds himself set to attend with his partner, Tessa Sam, in his own backyard where people have paid from around $30 (bringing your own picnic) to around $105 for pre-ordered wine and meal by Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay. All topped off with French entertainers, including Les Noces Gitanes.

It’s an event that has tickled Vancouverites: the 1,200 signed up within a few weeks for the event brought in by local branding and marketing group, The Social



Concierge. (As for the current waiting list? It puts it at 4,000.)

The event’s exclusivity appeals to Banks, the founder of TikTok, the Vancouver-based mobile platform for deals. “It’s simply not that accessible,” he adds. “It’s not something you can do all the time, any time you want. It’s a different and more grown-up experience which cannot be repeated.”

Bringing it to Vancouver was obvious, according to organizer Tyson Villeneuve. “We have a sophisticated food and wine scene, with one of the highest rates for restaurants per capita in North America, and this kicks it up a notch with an extravagant display,” he explains of the event that was 18 months in the creating. “It’s all about connecting during the event, and being French it’s all about the joie de vivre.”

In a world where everything is instantly Tweeted and there’s even a term for people who cannot live without their phones (nomophobia: a U.K. expression for no-mobile-phobia), surprises are rare. With those involved in organizing the Dîner en Blanc event signing non-disclosure documents, the secret is safe so far. “It’s fun to have a little mystery in your life,” says Tessa Sam, who owns the Sweet Bake Shop, a boutique dessert company in Vancouver. “I think it’s going to feel like we’re a team.”

Once the event starts, however, pop-up patron Dorian Banks predicts a minimum of 10,000 photos published over that four-hour period and, of course, the creation of a location on Foursquare, the networking site. “It’s going to be a huge blast of white on the Vancouver social media sites only delivered by 1,200 people,” says the social-media professional. “It will be thrilling, weird and fun. Everyone is going to be wondering what the heck’s going on and the imagery is going to be cool.”

For fellow guest Jens Marquardt, being brought to a surprise location “is part of the whole package and it’s new and unique for people here.” He already experienced the worldwide phenomenon by happenstance earlier this summer. On an evening stroll while visiting family in Paris, Marquardt crossed the River Seine and was tripped up by 15,000 people dressed in white — the universal, strictly-enforced dress code — in front of Notre Dame Cathedral.

“I just stood still for about five minutes not knowing what to say; I just couldn’t believe it,” he says thoughtfully. “It was a beautiful setup and a happy, peaceful scene. Open-air is lovely and freeing.”

When invitees sign up, they become members of international Dîner en Blanc group. The event is a private event, enabling organizers to obtain a liquor licence. (All wine and bubbly must be pre-ordered, however, unlike in other countries where people may turn up with their own booze.) Vancouver may not have Notre Dame as a backdrop, but organizer Tyson Villeneuve promises the chosen setting will be a “cool and iconic” location. “It will showcase Vancouver very well,” he adds, “and everyone around the world would recognize it as this city.”

While Paris’s skyline was special, Marquardt, who runs CanThrill, a Vancouver-based event-marketing company, says what really worked was “the combination of people from all walks of life and different ages and all enjoying coming together with friends and strangers to share the same passions over food, wine and community.” Witnessing this vignette of people “sharing the same spirit of an exceptional night” moved him to sign up as a group leader in Vancouver; now he will be in charge of meeting fellow diners — including his core group of 10 friends — and bringing them to the as-yet-unknown location. He himself will be told only hours before.

And, while he won’t reveal his costume until the day, he says elegance is the main currency at these events — from elaborate outfits to glamorous hats. “Not just T-shirts and sneakers,” he spurts, referring to Vancouver’s propensity to dress down. “People crave unique moments to remember ... and it takes extra effort to create those.”

With the vagaries of Vancouver weather (this is a rain or shine event), umbrellas are encouraged. Only in white, of course.



Waves of white at Vancouver's Diner en Blanc vancouversun.com Fri Aug 31 2012 Section: OnLine Byline: Christopher Reynolds A stream of white suits and dresses drifted down Canada Place on Thursday evening, as attendees of Vancouver's first Diner en Blanc arrived at the pop-up picnic's mystery location.

Uninformed of the secret destination - Jack Poole Plaza - until reaching it, young men and women in white suit jackets and gowns hauled wicker baskets, folding chairs, tables and cutlery to the bring-your-own-food affair. Booze they had to purchase on sight.

"We still don't exactly know where we're going. Complete pop-up effect," said Jessica Dunn, sporting a tight white dress and white pumps and pushing a loaded trolley. It carried store-bought pasta, cupcakes, charcuterie and cheese along with dishware. And tables. "The logistics side of things, well we're learning those right now with carrying these tables. Next year I won't have a big table."

Take a look at photos of Diner en Blanc here( (www.vancouversun.com»)

Despite a cumbersome arrival, some in groups via charter buses, the 1,200 pre-registered guests strove for elegance in emulation of the Parisian diners who launched Diner en Blanc 22 years ago. "I think it's just a really cool excuse to just get together and forget everything else that's going for about four hours, and just really take in that joie de vivre which at the end of the day is the essence of French dining culture," said event organizer Tyson Villeneuve.

A "most sought after secret event . recall[ing] the elegance and glamour of court society," according to its website, Diner en Blanc first sprouted in North America three years ago in Montreal. Vancouver joins 16 other cities worldwide in hosting diners at prominent locations for the private event, in which team leaders direct registered guests to a meeting point and proceed to the unannounced eating spot from there.

In Paris, Diner en Blanc has been held in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Champs Elysees, among others places. "The whole secrecy around the location is just to get people really excited over the concept of the actual spot," Villeneuve said. He said the age range of attendees was mostly from 25 to 45. "There's obviously a bit of a younger skew. Most of the people here are in their thirties. That's also because we know a lot of people in their thirties. I'm 32."

In each city as Diner en Blanc launches, it seems to spiral outward from the organizers to their social and corporate circle, and eventually beyond. Farhan Lalani, 34, heard about the event through friends involved in organizing it. "I was surprised actually that in Vancouver they were able to keep it a secret. Because it wouldn't be that cool if the secret was given away, but the fact that it was kept makes it all the better," he said.



Folding tables draped in white cloth stretched across the plaza beside the Vancouver Convention Centre. French lyrics floated across the bricked foundation in the smooth baritone of a Quebecois vocalist plucking acoustic guitar strings.

Joanne Perschbacher, 47, came to Diner en Blanc with a friend. "I think it's perfect. I suspected it might be the cauldron, because it is synonymous with Vancouver, especially following the Olympics. I think the setting is spectacular" "I love food, I love a celebration, I love the mystery. I like the whole concept."

Pre-ordered food was available on site courtesy of Top Chef Canada winner Dale Mackay's high-profile restaurant. Glass bottles of spring water were available, as were white boxes containing dry saucissons and pate, brie and chocolate truffles and panna cotta and crudités.

The pebbled plates of the Olympic cauldron shimmered in the foreground as the sun set on Burrard inlet, the North Shore offering up a backdrop of conifers. White fun fur, bonnets and baguettes bobbed across the plaza and into the night.

[email protected]( mailto: )( mailto:[email protected] )

Length: 645 words Idnumber: 201208310035 Permalink: www.vancouversun.com...»

Diner en Blanc evokes glamour of court society; That is, until wine bottles are emptied and flashmobsters dance the night away Vancouver Sun Sat Sep 1 2012 Page: E10 Section: Arts & Life Byline: Mia Stainsby Source: Vancouver Sun The first Vancouver Diner en Blanc did not disappoint. All 1,200 flashmobsters chosen from 5,000 wannabes were in ghostly white and thoroughly into the event last Thursday evening.

They were stoked to go but some complained about the Soup Nazi-style rules that were part of it. One fellow I talked to was particularly obedient about the all-white dress code and made sure he wore white underwear. Another couple scored extra points, bringing their white Samoyed dog. The all-white Flying Nun getup scored second looks, as did the two toned and tanned guys in white togas. But most people stuck to refinement and elegance. Tablecloths, tableware, chairs - everything had to be white. Disobey, and you risked being excommunicated from future DEBs and possibly pink-slipped on the spot for being a doofus and a pimple.

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But a flashmob of this size (intended to look like a polar blizzard in down-town Vancouver) does not arrive en masse and en blanc at Jack Poole Plaza without commandments. The rules were, nevertheless, stern and humourless. The template for the event emanates from Paris, where it began 24 years ago. Today, Paris hosts 15,000 DEBers and the event has spread to 16 cities worldwide.

The concept resurrects the elegance and glamour of court society, and you know what? It did seem that way on Thursday night until wine bottles were drained. Midway through the four-hour event, the white-on-white tableau became less elegant. The lively music ejected people from their chairs and they danced the night away.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. It is, after all, a picnic diner (dee-nay). While most opted to bring their own picnics, there was a catered option from Top Chef Canada Dale Mac-Kay. Wine had to be pre-ordered. The catered options were a charcuterie picnic with brie, pate, chorizo, pasta, baguette, candied almonds and panna cotta ($50) and a vegetarian box with veggie sticks, salsa, hummus, chilled tomato soup and an artisanal chocolate bar ($40). The chilled tomato soup was so good, I'd love the recipe. I split the chocolate with my neighbours. The food wasn't top-chef quality but it was nice not to have to lug our food as well as everything else. As my editor pointed out, the event celebrates French culture and shouldn't the food reflect that? Organizers?

The neighbours, all in their 20s and 30s, brought their own picnics and were thoroughly enjoying themselves. "The rules were a bit stifling at first but when you get here, you understand why - it's beautiful," said Andrea Dowd-Dever, a producer at brand.LIVE Group. Agnes Chow, in human resources at Blast Media and partner Eric Puch-mayr, a Web designer at Hootsuite, found the directions leading up to the event contradictory at times. "But we're loving it," said Chow. "We're coming again."It turned out to be a gorgeous August evening and a moment to really savour Vancouver. The visuals might not rival Paris in scope and backdrop but DEB Vancouver was a stunner, surrounded by glittering office towers, ocean, mountain, the Lion's Gate Bridge with its necklace of lights, the 2010 Olympic flames and Doug Coupland's digital orca sculpture.

"The rules and regulations make it special. It's not a group of people get-ting together for a hibachi picnic," said Tyson Villeneuve, one of the organizers who spent part of Thursday piloting a five-tonne "reefer" truck with refrigerated food and wine for the event. "At the end of the day, it's about that sense of the spectacular, people going to all kinds of effort and enjoying the event with friends and strangers, enjoying an elegant dining experience. It's the sheer spectacle of it happening in a beautiful, secret location. We want to make Vancouver's the strongest in Canada."



Illustration: • Gerry Kahrmann, Postmedia News / Participants in the Diner en Blanc light sparklers at Jack Poole Plaza Thursday.

ONLINE VERSION: Added Video http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Video+first+Vancouver+Diner+Blanc/7176166/story.html



Dancer swayed by flamenco history theprovince.com Mon Aug 27 2012 Section: OnLine Byline: Glen Schaefer

Vancouver dancer-singer Deborah Dawson followed her love of flamenco to Spain and France and, along the way, traced the art's Gypsy roots back to her family's native India. "I started flamenco when I was about 14," says Dawson. "I saw a show and fell in love with the skirts and the flowers. It was that before the music, before anything else, the visual of it." She calls from Tours, France, where she is now, as the only Canadian and woman among the eight members of the mostly-French musical dance group Les Noces Gitanes.

The eight musicians, singers and dancers are coming to Dawson's hometown along with a couple of side projects, the more club-oriented Martine on the Beach and the acoustic dance band SOS Rhumba.

Les Noces Gitanes (the name means Gypsy wedding) had been together as a band for a couple of years before Dawson joined three years ago. In her teens she had pursued flamenco through a scholarship with Vancouver's Central Flamenco.

"Right after high school I decided to take what I thought would be a year off to study in Spain," she says. While there, she met singer-guitarist Alejandro Ugartemendia of Les Noces Gitanes.

Study turned to work, as he convinced her to join the band as a dancer and background singer. She, in turn gave their shows a more visual component. "When the boys started the group, it was definitely more about the music, now it's a theatre show, a lot more dance. The boys get a bit of choreography as well, and we explain where the songs come from."

Along the way, Dawson learned more about flamenco's Gypsy roots. The group's music taps into styles including jazz, flamenco, swing, Bollywood, North African and Latin American rhythms.

"Most of the Gypsies in Europe come from northern India, they left Rajasthan centuries ago," she says. "They stopped in Turkey, Egypt, and found their way over down to southern Spain. Wherever they stopped they picked up the local music and added their culture to it. That's a mix that we draw on in our show as well, touching on Indian fusion sounds, Moroccan sounds."

The band includes one member from Morocco and one from Ecuador, aside from Dawson and the five French players. Dawson herself is first-generation Canadian, her parents Indian by way of Malaysia.

"When I started flamenco, I didn't know that the Gypsies in Spain came originally from India. When I found that out, it drew me in even more, even though my family is originally from southern India, a different part of the country. "Still, it captured me even more, to make a full circle to be dancing flamenco. Really it is in some long lost way my roots as well."

This trip marks the group's first concerts in North America.



PERFORMANCE

LES NOCES GITANES, SOS RUMBA AND MARTINE ON THE BEACH

When/where; 8 p.m. Thurs-day (Les Noces Gitanes at Diner en Blanc SOLD OUT); 2 p.m. Friday, PNE WestJet Stage (Les Noces Gitanes); 7: 30 p.m. Saturday, Enigma Restaurant (SOS Rhumba); 8 p.m. Sunday, the Electric Owl Social Club (Les Noces Gitanes and Martine on the Beach)

Tickets: At the door

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First local edition of Diner en Blanc will be chic pop-up picnic in iconic downtown location theprovince.com Thu Aug 30 2012 Section: OnLine Byline: CHERYL CHAN Elegant throngs of white-clad foodies will be descending en masse to downtown Vancouver Thursday night for the city's first Diner en Blanc event. About 1,200 diners will start gathering at 6 p.m. at designated meeting spots around the city. Carrying tables, chairs, picnic baskets, and led by a group leader, the all-white diners will make their way to a secret location for a tres chic pop-up picnic that's part flash mob, part spectacle, part exclusive dinner party. "It's a four-hour dinner, very joie de vivre, very in the moment, celebrating life and coming together," said organizer Jordan Kallman.

Diner en Blanc began about two decades ago in France when Francois Pasquier organized a meet-up with some friends at a park and asked them to wear all white. The concept has since taken off, with Diner en Blanc events happening annually in some of Paris' most recognizable landmarks, including Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Invalides.



Canada's inaugural Diner en Blanc event was brought to Montreal in 2009 by Pasquier's son Aymeric. Toronto held its first all-white party Aug. 9. Like all Diner en Blanc events, Vancouver's alfresco event has rules. All participants (including media) must wear white, the more elegant the better. They are responsible for bringing their own tables and white chairs. Tablecloths must be white, plates and glasses must be china, not plastic.

Diners will arrive together at the secret location. The start of dinner will be signalled by the communal waving of white napkins. Guests have the option of bringing their own food (sharing is encouraged), while others had pre-ordered meals from Vancouver's chef Dale MacKay. Wine, too, has to be pre-ordered. Only wine or bubbly are available - no beer or spirits.

At 9:30 p.m., guests light sparklers together, signalling the end of the meal and the beginning of the dancing to musical performances by French group Les Noces Gitanes, Joshua Minsky, and DJ Marc Founier. At 10:45 p.m. a trumpet call will sound the end of dinner, and guests are expected to pack up and put away their things, leaving the location as pristine as it was before.

Kallman is keeping mum on the secret location, but revealed he and fellow organizer Tyson Villeneuve did not have a shortage of venues to choose from. "Vancouver is full of public green space and public gallery space," he said. "Our city does a wonderful job of [urban] planning, and I don't think those spaces are utilized often. It provides a good opportunity for Diner en Blanc Vancouver to use these amazing public spaces."

The only clue Kallman will reveal is that it is an "iconic" location. Organizers also revealed Thursday morning that the location will be in downtown Vancouver.

Editor's note: Look for a Province photo gallery from this event later on this evening.

[email protected]( mailto:[email protected] )

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1,200 people show up for Vancouver's first edition of Diner en Blanc heprovince.com Friday, August 31, 2012 Cheryl Chan

In the golden light of a fading summer day, throngs of elegant white-clad diners converged at Jack Poole Plaza for Vancouver’s first Diner en Blanc event. Nestled between the unlit Olympic cauldron and sea and mountains, 1,200 people set up tables, chairs, china and centrepieces, waved white napkins in the air and settled down for a pop-up picnic that’s part flash mob, part exclusive dinner party.“It’s about joie de vivre,” said organizer Jordan Kallman, as strains of La Vie en Rose drifted across the plaza. “It’s about living in the moment, enjoying life, wine, food, your friends.”

The fashionable mob started trickling into the plaza at 7 p.m. — the location was kept secret until a half-hour before the event started — clad in hats and pearls, bearing picnic baskets, balloons, flowers, lanterns, even a dog, in white, of course. Most people brought their own food, while 400 foodies tucked into a gourmet French picnic prepared by Vancouver chef Dale MacKay. The wine or bubbly were pre-ordered.

To outsiders, many standing agape watching the spectacle unfold, it may seem the party appeared magically out of thin air. But a lot of work went on behind the scenes, said Kallman: “It seems very rogue, but we’re actually following the law with complete clarity.”

Diner en Blanc started in France in 1988 when founder Francois Pasquier organized a gathering with friends in a park and asked them to wear white. Since then, thousands gather annually in some of Paris’ iconic venues, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Invalides. The event has also spread to major cities around the world, including New York, Sydney, Barcelona and Singapore. Pasquier’s son Aymeric brought the event to Canada, in Montreal, in 2009. Toronto held its first all-white party Aug. 9.

Kenny Dempsey and his wife Sinead Wynne, who moved to Vancouver from Ireland two years ago, read about Diner en Blanc in the papers, and decided to pay the $5 membership and $25 registration fee to join. “Where better could you get a bite to eat and have this view?” said a dapper Dempsey, 32, tucking into a homemade repast of cold cuts, olives and cheese. “Beautiful city. It’s an experience.”

For Warren Hall, 31, who attended the dinner with a large group of friends, part of the allure of Diner en Blanc was the mystery. “We had no idea where we were going. It was just ‘follow the leader,’” he said, referring to assigned leaders who met up with groups at designated meeting points around the city, then guided them to the venue via public transit. ”Even getting all the white is a mission,” added Hall, noting the monochromatic attire did grow on him, “minus the food stains.”

The event drew 5,000 people on a wait-list and sold out in two weeks, said Kallman, who organized the event with partner Tyson Villeneuve through their business The Social Concierge. “Everyone’s looking for a new experience, something unique that draws them in and allows them to speak to community,” said the 31-year-old. “It speaks a lot of to our generation, and what they are looking for.”

After the meal, guests will light sparklers, signalling the start of dancing to French jazz/gypsy band Le Noces Gitanes, Joshua Minsky, and DJ Marc Founier. At 10:45 p.m., a trumpet will blare, heralding the end of the evening. The guests will begin packing up, then head back the way they came, leaving no trace of their four-hour feast behind.



Jack Poole Plaza hosts first Diner en Blanc in Vancouver The Province Friday, August 31, 2012 Cheryl Chan

In the golden light of a fading summer day, throngs of elegant, white-clad diners converged at Jack Poole Plaza for Vancouver's first Diner en Blanc.

Nestled between the unlit Olympic cauldron and the sea and mountains, 1,200 people set up tables, chairs, china and centrepieces, waved white napkins and settled down for a pop-up picnic.

"It's about joie de vivre," said Jordan Kall-man of The Social Concierge, which organized the event, part flash mob, part dinner party. "It's about living in the moment, enjoying life, wine, food, your friends."

The fashionable mob started trickling into the plaza - the location kept secret until a half-hour before the event started - at 7 p.m., clad in hats and pearls, and bearing picnic baskets, balloons, flowers, lanterns, even a dog - all in white.

Most people brought their own food, while 400 foodies tucked into a gourmet French picnic prepared by Vancouver chef Dale MacKay. The wine or bubbly were pre-ordered.

To outsiders, many standing agape watching the spectacle unfold, it may seem the party appeared magically out of thin air. But a lot of work went on behind the scenes, said Kallman: "It seems very rogue, but we're actually following the law with complete clarity."

Diner en Blanc started in France in 1988 when founder Francois Pasquier organized a gathering with friends in a park and asked them to wear white. The event has since spread around the world.

Kenny Dempsey and his wife Sinead Wynne read about Diner en Blanc in the papers, and decided to pay the $5 membership and $25 registration fee to join.

"Where better could you get a bite to eat and have this view?" said a dapper Dempsey, 32.

After the meal, guests lit sparklers, signalling the start of dancing. At 10: 45 p.m., a trumpet blared, heralding the end of the party. Guests began packing up, then left, leaving no trace of their four-hour feast behind.



Diner en Blanc captures hearts in Vancouver theprovince.com By Sandra O'Connell August 31, 2012

A milky sea flowed through the streets of downtown Vancouver last night – a parade of people carrying tables, chairs and picnic baskets enroute to a secret twilight dinner.

Diner en Blanc, the dining phenomenon birthed in Paris, made its Vancouver debut at Jack Poole Plaza where 1,200 diners amassed in resplendent white finery. Organized by the brains behind Social Concierge, Tyson Villeneuve and Jordan Kallman, the event was a sell out from the moment details were released, while a stunning 4,000 hopefuls drummed their fingers on the waiting list.

The details that went into each table and costume were finite. Lace or linen tablecloths carried fine china, fancy stemware, and bouquets of flowers. French inspired food, such as baguettes, cheeses and charcuterie, were the delicacies of choice.

Top hats, tails, boas and ball gowns blended in with the white army. Some men had searched far and wide for white trousers this close to Labour Day, while many women had been planning their outfits for months. Conversations were struck by those in awe of their neighbours and twinkling eyes met across the plaza. There was not one face present without a smile stretching lips.

With the North Shore mountains as backdrop and a singer crooning French lyrics, the crowd waved their white napkins in unison to signal the commencement of dinner.

Once the sun dipped below the horizon and meals were polished off, sparklers magically lit up the night and dancing in the dark air capped off the dreamlike evening.

Lessons learned from Diner en Blanc:

1. Careful…off white and cream are quickly labeled as outsiders against an expanse of pure white. 2. Never do anything half-assed. 3. Revelry can pulsate through a crowd faster than lightening. 4. The French are the epitome of classy. 5. Join Diner en Blanc Vancouver now so you don’t miss next year’s effervescent evening.



Fred UNLEESHED Vancouver Courier Fri Sep 7 2012 Page: 28 Section: Arts & Life Source: Vancouver Courier

White out: The Social Concierge's Tyson Villeneuve and Jordan Kallman fronted the coolest party the season. Dressed all in elegant white, and carrying their own meals, dinnerware, tables and chairs, 1,200 diners participated in Vancouver's inaugural Diner en blanc, a tradition that originated in France back in 1988 and has since spread globally. A sort of flash mob that lasted four hours, attendees gathered for the fabulous pop-up feast at Jack Poole Plaza, a location that was kept secret until half an hour before the event started.

Rocking the Rim: Colin James rocked the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel last week. The singer-songwriter headlined the hotel's end of summer party shindig, an exclusive meetand-greet and intimate concert for several hundred of the hotel's closest friends.

Rental return: While Top Chef Canada's Dale MacKay shuttered both his restaurants last week citing high rents, restaurateurs Gord Martin (Bin941, Go Fish!) and Abdel Elatouabi (Le Marrakech) pooled their talents to open their latest. SoL Sun Belt Cookery is a Mediterranean restaurant located in the same spot Elatouabi once occupied (with Bravo Bistro) but abandoned when his $10,000 rent went up 50 per cent. Subsequent failures saw the landlord wise up, rates fall, and the return of Elatouabi to the Denman at West Georgia space.

Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @FredAboutTown or fredabouttown.blogspot.com.

Illustration: • / Consulate General of France Evelyne Decorps (second from right) welcomed Carmen Ruiz y Laza, Doug Reynolds and Joshua McVeity to Diner en blanc. • / Retiring Courier publisher Emily Jubb (centre) received a royal send off from assistant editor Fiona Hughes and Glacier Media Group's Peter Kvarnstrom. • / West Coast Fishing Club vice president Brian Grange and owner Brian Legge's Fishing for Kids tournament reeled in $1 million for the Canucks Autism Network. • / After a stint as Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Rachid's executive chef, Abdel Elatouabi returned to his former Bravo Bistro premise to open SoL Sun Belt Cookery. • / Soprano Angela Molineux performed at Gord Martin's newest restaurant SoL Sun Belt Cookery on Denman Street. • / Social Concierge's Tyson Villeneuve and Jordan Kallman fronted Diner en blanc, a pop-up feast at Jack Poole Plaza attended by 1,200 diners clad in white. • / Marketer Veronica Bailey mugged with musician Colin James at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel's summer party. • / Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel GM Phil Barnes and his wife Heidi welcomed guests to the property's exclusive end of summer rock 'n roll party.


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Bites in white cotton The Vancouver Courier Friday, August 24, 2012 Tim Pawsey The Hired Belly wonders whether he can still fit into the white pants he used to flaunt a couple of decades ago. Possibly not. The occasion? Diner en Blanc (Aug. 30), a not-soimpromptu picnic with a few hundred others at a mystery location that isn't revealed until the last minute.

Vancouver is the latest stop for this all-in-white bite, the first of which took place in Paris in the Bois de Boulougne in 1988. Since then it's popped up annually at such iconic spots as L'Arc de Triomphe and in front of Notre Dame- and spread to 20 cities on five continents. Montreal played host in 2008, while Toronto held its inaugural blanc mélange this year, with revelers braving a rainstorm at Fort York.

Vancouver co-organizer Tyson Villeneuve says he had the idea to put on a West Coast dinner while living in Paris-though he never attended an event himself. "I'm half-French, perfectly bilingual and have a passion for French life and culture," says Villeneuve, who connected with the dinner's founder on Facebook 18 months ago.

Villeneuve says deciding on the mystery venue was the toughest part. "We wanted to choose some place that's iconically Vancouver-to make sure it was somewhere that people internationally could identify. It will be amazingly Vancouver," he promises.

Beachfront? English Bay? Probably not. Somewhere in Stanley Park? Possibly. But likely elsewhere. And even if you're one of the 1,200 people who've forked out $39 to pack along their own white chairs and portable white picnic table for the sold-out event, you won't know where until you arrive. Diners have been instructed to gather at designated meeting places where they will then be led to the mystery spot.

Those who don't want to cater their own picnic basket will pick-up pre-ordered tastes from Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay, a longtime friend of Villeneuve. MacKay says his Ensemble restaurant will prep some 350 to 400 picnics of paté, cheese and panna cotta, as well as a vegetarian option. "We wanted to make it casual," says MacKay, in keeping with the spirit of the event.

One thing participants won't be able to do is bring their own wine, although the mystery venue will be licensed. Diners were able to order a bottle or two ahead of time-from a selection that even if not particularly French does include red wines, though surprisingly none from B.C.



Part promo, part entertainment (performers include acclaimed Les Noces Gitanes) and part public art piece, this mix and mingle promises to be one of the year's more intriguing outdoor food events.

The latest to make our list of go-to budget bites is Honjin Sushi (138 Davie St., 604-688-8808). While we're still lamenting the demise of Aki (an offshoot of the city's first Japanese restaurant), we're drawn to the wide variety of well-crafted, affordable tastes, from sushi to robata and beyond, at this tucked away Yaletown room within a chopstick's toss of the Roundhouse turntable.

Wander away from the (very fresh) usual sushi and sashimi offerings and you'll discover the likes of crisped taro Tempura ($7.95); lean and tender, deliciously sauced karubi, garlic beef ribs ($4.95); a generous house green salad ($4.95); chicken teriyaki and rice ($10.95); and plentiful if somewhat uneventful eggplant with ginger sauce, $4.50. On recent visits, we've dined well for $20 a person, excluding drinks and taxes. One more bonus, the staff are a delight and keen on sports, making this the perfect spot to catch a game with good eats.

Chef Meets Grape-the largest annual tasting of B.C. wines-rolls into town at the Vancouver Convention Centre East, Sept. 20. Seventy-five wineries offer 300 wines paired with plates from a variety of B.C. restaurants, including an Ocean Wise raw bar. Tickets $75. For more information, go to winebc.org.

Ultimate Parisian picnic Dîner en Blanc coming to Vancouver Aug. 30 metronews.ca Wednesday, August 1, 2012 Kate Webb

One of Paris’s hautest annual bourgeois events, Dîner en Blanc (Dinner in White), is coming to Vancouver, and more than 700 people already have tickets.

Part upscale picnic, part monochromatic flashmob, Dîner en Blanc will bring 1,200 people together for an outdoor meal with tables, chairs, and linen at a location kept secret until one hour before the event. “It’s the essence of joie de vivre,” explained Tyson Villeneuve, the French host of Vancouver’s upcoming Dîner en Blanc, set for Aug. 30.

“For four hours, friends and complete strangers come together all dressed in white for a pop-up sophisticated picnic and dinner, and then drink wine, drink champagne, and have a good time. It’s about good food, good people, good atmosphere and then they leave and take everything with them.”

The dining trend began in 1988 and has since spread from France to more than 15 countries around



the world. Four years ago Montreal became the first North American city to host one, and this month Toronto and Quebec City will also host Dîners of their own.

Villeneuve didn’t offer any hints about where Vancouver’s will be, except to say it will be in a beautiful, iconic location.

“In Paris, they’ve done it on the Champs-Élysées, where it started — there’s 15,000 people that go every year in Paris — they’ve done it in front of the Louvre Museum, they’ve done it in front of the Eiffel Tower, in front of Notre Dame, all these iconic locations,” he said.

“Taking after Paris, I really wanted to have people look at the photos from the global website and go, ‘Wow. That’s Vancouver.’”

Tickets must be purchased in twos, and work out to $30 each once all fees are in. Buyers have the option of packing in their own fancy entrées, or adding on a gourmet meal cooked onsite by Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay for $40 to $50. Wine must be purchased online and in advance with tickets.

For details and tickets, visit dinerenblanc.info. Bon appétit!

‘Vancouver at its best’ Page 8 Friday, August 31, 2012 Kate Webb

With a golden sunset rippling over Jack Poole Plaza and traditional French music delighting a spellbound crowd, international flashmob phenomenon Dîner en Blanc made its graceful Vancouver debut Thursday night. By 7 p.m., the stunning location that had been kept top secret by organizers for a year-and-a-half was revealed. Champagne corks popped, and up with them a sophisticated picnic of epic proportions.

The lucky 1,200 who managed to snag tickets for the Paris-inspired soirée — 4,000 were left on the waitlist — brought everything with them and were dressed to the nines. Glass stemware clinked, wicker picnic baskets were unpacked onto fresh linen tablecloths, and there were more lace, pearls and fascinators than you could shake a baguette at.

“The location is absolutely perfect,” said Justin Glen, 40, who came with his 27-year-old girlfriend, Danielle Nelson. “We didn’t even think about it being down here, but once you get down here with the backdrop of the planes flying out and the torch — they said online that you would be able to tell it was Vancouver from all over the place, and I thought, ‘Well, where would that be?’ Obviously I wasn’t thinking very hard. Right here.”

Guests had the option of bringing in their own meals or buying a gourmet dinner prepared by Canada’s Top Chef Dale MacKay.

Nelson and Glen packed in meats, cheeses, salad and olives, and bought two bottles of wine. Nelson, who heard about the event on Twitter, said she was inspired by guests’ commitment. “I like that everybody’s dressed up and people are bringing, like, they have a candelabra sitting on their table,” she said, pointing to one of many decked-out settings nearby. “It’s neat. People are going pretty crazy and it’s fun that everybody can get together and not know each other and still manage to all follow the rules and stick to the same idea.”



Organizer Tyson Villeneuve was beaming from ear to ear as the enchanted scene unfolded. “I honestly couldn’t have imagined it going any more smoothly, any better,” he said. “It’s a beautiful crowd, the skies opened up this morning, it’s beautiful weather. It’s Vancouver at its best.”

At 9:30 p.m. sparklers were lit and the tipsy crowd was given the signal it was OK to get up and dance. Next year’s event is sure to be an even hotter ticket, and Villeneuve said the online signup for tickets will begin sometime in the spring. To get updates, sign up for a $5 membership at http://dinerenblanc.info.



TRAVELGEAR 24 Hours Vancouver Tue Aug 7 2012 Page: 23 Section: Travel

It's the summer's hottest meal ticket. If you haven't yet received your invitation for Toronto's top-secret Diner en Blanc, then you might have to go hungry--at least for this year. The chic, pop-up style picnic, which originated in Paris and has now appeared in 20 cities across five continents, will be popping up in Toronto on Aug. 9.

A foodie's dream come true, these outdoor epicurean feasts are organized entirely via social media and are attended annually by as many as 10,000 people in cities around the world (similar events have already been held in both Montreal and Vancouver).

Here's how it works: Guests, dressed all in white, are directed to meet at various points throughout the city where they will be escorted by foot or bus to the party's secret outdoor location. Each partygoer is required to bring their own dinner, tables, chairs, glasses, silver and white linens. Together, they will dine in a public space complete with sparklers, white balloons, live music and evening dancing.

When it's time to depart, each attendee will pack up their picnic baskets, gather all their debris and head into the night leaving nothing but their footprints and memories behind. For more information, go to dinerenblanc. info.-- JAMI KLOET, 24 HOURS

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September 5, 2012

Diner en Blanc for 1,200 North Shore News Wed Sep 5 2012 Page: 33 Section: Special Section Wear white. They must bring their own table, chairs, white linens, dishes and glassware. They can bring their own picnic, or pay $50 for a boxed dinner. That's where MacKay - crowned Canada's Top Chef in 2011, and recently making headlines for closing his downtown restaurants - comes in.

And yet, on this night, MacKay is not the story. What's most interesting about Diner en Blanc Vancouver is that we're doing it - notreluctantly, not with our usual toe-scuffing, passive-aggressive recalcitrance - but with great enthusiasm.

In a city known alternately for being either "no fun" or for post-hockey game riots, 1,200 people dressed in white, complete with fascinators, top hats, wedding dresses and wingtips, packed up the required accoutrements and trekked to the iconic location (kept secret until the event's start). Even more surprising, the event was a sell out; 4,000 would-be attendants languished on a waitlist.

At 8 p.m., the picnickers wave their napkins above their heads to signal the beginning of dinner and it's on: glasses clinking, bread breaking and meals consumed. At 9: 30, the party has grown louder, and sparklers signal that dinner is done and the dancing can start. Then suddenly, at 11: 15, it's over. The guests - and everything they brought with them - disappear into the night.

Illustration: • / THE North Shore provides a spectacular backdrop for Diner en Blanc, the pop-up picnic for 1,200 that took place at Jack Poole Plaza on Aug. 30, above. Guests must wear white and bring their own tables, chairs, supplies and food. • / Similar events take place in 27 cities around the world - always at an iconic location - so the Olympic cauldron, right, was a fitting choice for Vancouver's inaugural event. • News Deana Lancaster / GUESTS could sign up for a picnic box created by chef Dale MacKay, above left, or they could bring all their own food. Many brought floral centrepieces, and even candelabras to adorn their tables, above right. • News Deana Lancaster /

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The dish North Shore News Wed Sep 5 2012 Page: 33 Section: Special Section Byline: Deana Lancaster Column: Deana Lancaster Source: North Shore News AS a singer croons La Vie en Rose to 1,200 white clad diners all organized in rows across Jack Pole Plaza, chef Dale MacKay stands chatting to media, explaining his role in the festivities.

"I got involved because I know the organizers," MacKay says. "We weren't sure how it would go, so we kept the food simple. Inside the boxes are charcuterie, cheese, pasta salad, a baguette, and panna cotta - picnic items you can snack on."

This is Diner en Blanc, a pop-up picnic first organized in Paris in the late '80s by a small group of friends. It's grown: in 2012, the flagship event drew almost 15,000 picnickers, and the dining phenomenon has spread to 27 cities around the world. Canada played host to four events this summer, in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, and Vancouver. The rules for participation are strict: diners must be members of Diner en Blanc, or invited to attend. They must

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Dining event offers shades of glamour Penticton Western News Mon Sep 3 2012 Page: 18 Section: Lifestyles Byline: Jennifer Schell You may have heard the buzz about t he recent Diner en Blanc flash picnic that happened in Vancouver last Thursday. A total of 1,200 picnickers, dressed all in white, toting tables, chairs and white picnic baskets arrived to a last-minute secret location at Jack Poole Plaza (former home of the Olympic flame). It was a glorious spectacle and celebration of old-world glamour and I was thrilled to make the guest list! This sought-after event announces its growing network with over 15 new cities worldwide across five continents joining in.

Launched with just a handful of friends by Parisian François Pasquier over 20 years ago, Paris' Diner en Blanc now assembles nearly 15,000 people each year. "Beyond the spectacle and refined elegance of the dinner itself, guests are brought together from diverse backgrounds by a love of beauty and good taste. Le Diner en Blanc recalls the elegance and glamour of court society, and diners engage one another knowing they are taking part in a truly magical event."

There are many rules to follow and I love them all. Dress code: white. BYO: gourmet picnic basket with real plates, cutlery and glassware. Only white wine or bubbles are allowed. Rain or shine the picnic will happen, and if you don't show up, you will be blackballed from the invitation list forever.

Now for the exciting news. I am part of a committee that has organized a white dinner in the Okanagan this coming weekend: Sept. 9. We are working with the International Diner en Blanc organizers to make our event official next year so we will be able to call it Diner en Blanc Okanagan. This will give our beautiful valley international recognition as being a host to this tres elegant affair. There are a few tickets left to the Okanagan White Dinner. Tickets are only $25 - don't miss being a part of the magic. Go to: http:// okanaganwhitedinner.eventbrite.com/ and sign up to now.

Jennifer Schell is the editor of B.C. Food and Wine Trails magazine.

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Event Recap: Diner en Blanc Vancouver notable.ca Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012 Danica Jeffrey

Last Thursday, our Vancouver Notable team packed up a picnic, donned their best summer whites and lugged tables and chairs, cutlery, stemware, glassware and, in accordance with Diner en Blanc rules, white china plates and linens and headed out to a check point locale emailed earlier that afternoon.

Admittedly, it did feel a tad odd walking down the streets toting all the above essentials during rush hour. But upon rounding the corner near the Opus Hotel in Yaletown, we instantly got a taste of what was to come at YVR’s inaugural white pop-up event about to take place as we connected with several dozen white-clad party-goers excitedly waiting for things to get started.

Upon checking in with the group leader, it was only a matter of minutes before we boarded the Canada Line straight to the Waterfront – and our destination revealed. We made our way to arguably one of the top viewpoints around town: Jack Poole Plaza, home of the 2010 Olympic torch, set amidst a stunning coastal backdrop.

As the crowd of nearly 1300 invited DEB-goers seamlessly made their way to their designated area, it was pretty sweet to watch the pieces come together effortlessly as tables were set, wine poured and the real socializing began – all while a lone musician serenaded the growing crowd, adding a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ whimsy to the evening.

With warm summer weather still gracing Vancouver, Dîner en Blanc attendees pulled out all the stops in terms of elegant dress and conduct at this coveted event. Decidedly unique, DEB Vancouver was a wonderful way to sign off on summer and brought together the perfect collection of class, people and an overall exotic sense of space and place. Organizers managed to blend party-goers from various professional backgrounds, finding a perfect mix of ages and interests to ensure conversations were light and lively all night. Click here to see the full gallery.



Diner en Blanc lights up Vancouver CTV British Columbia Published Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 8:41AM PDT Penny Daflos,

On Thursday night, 1,200 Diner en Blanc attendees, all dressed in white, took over downtown Vancouver for the city's inaugural outdoor pop-up feast. As you might expect, this was the kind of event Vancouverites took to with gusto.

In the days before Aug. 29, Diner en Blanc attendees anxious to fulfill the mandatory requirements on the guest checklist scoured the city and nearby big box stores for folding white chairs and small folding tables to go along with the requisite non-disposable dishware, cutlery and glassware; plastic was forbidden.

Finding all white clothing was another challenge, and I wasn’t the only person scanning Robson Street’s summer clearance racks the day of the event, looking with sidelong glances at the other people checking out white clothing and wondering if they were in on the secret. Surprisingly, white men’s shoes could be found for $30 fairly easily, and there were plenty of options out there for women to feel less like a bride and more like a garden partying socialite.

Word of Diner en Blanc spread quickly through social media, helped by articles in local newspapers, so by the time the event took place some 5,000 people were on the waiting list. The website explaining the concept (secret flash-mob picnic for upwards of a thousand people at a famous landmark in the city, all in white and very elegant) warned there was limited space and previous attendees or event volunteers would have priority.

At 6 p.m. pockets of white started popping up around the city, prompting stares from everyone not in on the secret. As my husband and I made our way to Waterfront Station, other pairs of well-dressed people slowly showed up lugging picnic baskets and furniture. Most of the men and some women kept it simple, but some brought out flashy white suspenders and fedoras, feathered fascinators and paper umbrellas to jazz up the monochrome palette.

I must have explained to at least 10 people, tourists and locals alike, that we weren’t going to a wedding and we were just a big group of strangers meeting for a secret picnic.

Finally 6:45 p.m. rolled around and our group leaders started herding us east. Would we end up



on transit? Walk all the way to Stanley Park? Or the beach? Diner en Blanc events in other cities are always held at locations easily recognizable in photos. Past locations include the Eiffel Tower grounds in Paris, Battery Park in New York and Place-des-Arts in Montreal.

It turned out all those streams of white converged on Jack Poole Plaza, following the river of white and the sounds of live French music. It was a truly surreal experience joining 1,200 others in setting up our long lines of tables topped with tablecloths and settings in the shadow of the Olympic cauldron.

“It was actually a really tough call choosing Jack Poole plaza,” explained event organizer Tyson Villeneuve. “There are so many iconic locations in this city, many of which we hope will play host to Diner en Blanc for many years to come, because it changes every year.”

By 7:45 p.m. the tables were set (many of them with silver candlesticks, flowers and other creative table dressings) and the ritual napkin twirl signalled the start of the meal. Some people had pre-ordered wine and meals from the caterer, which turned out to be Top Chef Canada winner Dale Mackay. The majority opted to bring their own meals and they really ran the gamut: charcuterie platters with baguettes, sushi and steak. You name it, you’d find it in that sea of white.

Since organizers were hoping for a French-style experience, diners weren’t supposed to leave their seats until the meal finished at 9:45, so it was important to make friends with the people on either side. We had a great time meeting our tablemates and the unusual circumstances turned into a real bonding experience.

Those two hours passed quickly and it was hard to believe how fast 9:45 p.m. rolled around. That’s when everyone took up complimentary sparklers and lit up the night in the evening’s most dramatic moment. Cue the band (imagine a French-flamenco-dance blend) and attendees happily danced and socialized for the next hour before packing up and heading home, with no evidence of having been there at all.

This was Vancouver’s inaugural event, along with 17 other cities including Toronto, Sydney, Barcelona, New Orleans and Singapore. Not bad for something that started as an inside joke among friends in Paris 24 years ago.

“We hope to continue to work with the city and we’re hoping it can be bigger next year,” said Villeneuve. “I know that Montreal started with 800 or 1,200 people and now they’re up to almost 5,000. New York had 1,200 for their first year last year and had 3,500 this year.”

You can get on the waiting list for next year on the Diner en Blanc website.



CTV Afternoon News See Unofficial Clip – On File CTV Vancouver Broadcast Date: Friday August 31 2012 Clip Length: 10 minutes



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