Dîner en Blanc is making a comeback in Wilmington this fall following the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's theme: the Roaring Twenties.
Local business owner Sherell Flagg, and her husband, Michael, who founded the exclusive Wilmington event, called it a perfect fit as we emerge from the pandemic.
"The Roaring Twenties kicked off after the Spanish flu, which was a huge pandemic, so we were like this is a great opportunity to kind of bring that same theme," said Sherell Flagg.
The rules for the outdoor Parisian-style picnic are still the same--wear all white--but get creative in accordance with the theme.
"Extravagant, fashion, but this time time into some of the people like the old Harlem look, the Roaring Twenties with the headbands and the feathers, the flappers, the guys with the suspenders. You can still come in white, as long as you're in white, you're fine, but we added the theme just to make it a little bit more interesting," said Michael Flagg.
Don't forget to pack your own table, linens, chairs, plates, and all the decorative touches like light up Eiffel towers, twinkle lights, and flowers, that make the event special. Attendees can bring their own food and wine or champagne or indulge in pre-paid catered meal that can be picked up on-site. Catering this year will come from Newark's Caffe Gelato and Wilmington's Ciro Food & Drink though menus aren't yet available.
"Everybody is, of course, ready to be outside," she said. "We've all been cooped up since the pandemic, so it's great to be able to come out and have the opportunity to come together once again and just take part in this wonderful evening, so we're excited that we're able to get back out there.
Dîner en Blanc began in Paris more than three decades ago. It's now held in at least 90 cities.
The couple was inspired to bring the event to Wilmington after seeing it unfold in Philadelphia in 2017.
"They didn't want us to have it in Wilmington because Philly was so close, and I was like Wilmington is not Philadelphia...Delaware is not Philadelphia," said Michael Flagg.
"My husband...he said the community needs this, and since then, we brought it, the people showed up, 2018 we had 1,100 people. Fast-forward to 2019, we had 2,000 people, and we have over 5,000 people on the waiting list now, so the growth has been tremendous, the response has been awesome," said Sherell Flagg.
But this year's event will be smaller due to public health concerns with a maximum of 2,500 persons. Extended safety measures will also be in place per large gathering guidelines from the Delaware Division of Public Health.
Sign up on Dîner en Blanc's website to register for the waiting list for the invite-only, ticketed event happening on Saturday, September 25, 2021. Expect invites to go out sometime in late August.
"Wilmington is the presidential city of all 150 cities, so this is the presidential city edition to Wilmington Dîner en Blanc...it's usually not political, but since Joe Biden is from here, hey why not?" Michael Flagg said.
"We're making a lot of other cities jealous right now," laughed Sherell Flagg.
The 2018 event was held in Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park while the 2019 event was held on Market Street Mall.
The location of this year's event will, of course remain a mystery, until you get there via some kind of public transportation, but Michael gave us a little hint.
"Somewhere in the city of Wilmington, and it's going to use the city as the backdrop," said Michael Flagg.
