It was a sea of dazzling white in downtown Calgary Thursday evening, as thousands of picnickers descended upon a Calgary park for an annual outdoor dining experience known as Dîner en Blanc.
The event, which originally started in Paris, has attracted a crowd of more than 2,500 Calgarians in the past, and this year was no exception.
The secret location at the Peace Bridge at Eau Claire was revealed to participants shortly before the event. It was up to diners to bring their own white tables, white chairs, white linens and white tableware.
Chef Michael Nobel prepared the meal, via his Inglewood eatery, The Nash.
Dîner en Blanc started in Paris in 1988 by Frenchman Francois Pasquier. He invited some friends to a park for a picnic dinner, and asked that everyone wear white so they could find each other. The event has since exploded with Paris organizers needing to cap the picnic at 15,000 people.
And because the elegant event is so visually stunning, it's not hard to understand why the epicurean dinner has been replicated worldwide. Despite the long list of rules and very strict dress code, the pay-to-play event attracts a Calgary long wait list.
Check out photos from last year's Diner en Blanc in Calgary:
