Diner En Blanc, translated, The White Party, was initiated years ago by Parisian Francois Pasquier. Francois invited a group of friends to The Bois De Boulogne for a spontaneous dinner party. Without disclosing details, he asked that they all wear white, so as to find each other easily. One year later guests were invited to bring more friends. Today Diner En Blanc is an elegant event celebrated by the thousands at each sitting. This spontaneous picnic phenomenon can be seen in Paris, Sydney, Barcelona, Boston and beyond. Guests follow strict rules of Diner En Blanc decorum: they must be in head to toe white, bring their own table and chairs, picnic supplies including food, white flowers, wine glasses and one white linen napkin.

When William and I were asked to create an installation for Vancouver’s Diner En Blanc our imaginations raced. And upon that sweltering summer day we worked for several hours along side massive trucks unloading event fixings onto the grass field called David Lam Park. The park was in the centre of Vancouver’s trendy Yaletown, surrounded by high-rise condos. We had just enough time to dress and drive our vintage Kharman Ghia onto the grass, when the diners began to arrive. Thousands, from every direction, exactly on time.

The night was stunning. White dresses of every era, dudes in dapper hats, opera singers, dancers, beauties on stilts. The field morphed into a pointillism painting. Guests floated about our BIGLOVEBALLS and posed with champagne on the hood of our car. Someone proposed marriage at the base of our fifteen foot high love sculpture. Love was abundant.

Before the sun went down and as the park was aglow with candles and sparklers, we watched participants posing with BIGLOVEBALL. Lovers dancing, friends sipping champagne. Laughter. 

William and I stood and watched as the party flourished then vanished.