Wear white and enjoy the picnic

…..its Diner en Blanc event Today, August 11, Kigali will be celebrating an international event dubbed, “Diner en Blanc”, featuring special dishes and a variety of drinks as well as music to ensure that participants have fun.

Friday, August 10, 2012
u201cDiner en Blancu201d

…..its Diner en Blanc eventToday, August 11, Kigali will be celebrating an international event dubbed, "Diner en Blanc”, featuring special dishes and a variety of drinks as well as music to ensure that participants have fun.Kigali will be the first city in Africa to host the prestigious, "Diner en Blanc”— event, which brings together people from different walks of life for an elegant pop-up picnic in the city. During this French foodie-gathering event guests, come dressed head-to-toe in white for a picnic and all accessories must be white as well. The name says it all, and the event speaks for itself as well: "Diner en Blanc”— Dinner in White, is a series of outdoor dining events that are organised via word-of-mouth and social media networks. Registration fee to the event is Rwf12, 000, while journalists pay Rwf5000 for their food baskets.There are many events nowadays that leave you wondering why you dropped Rwf10.000+ on an entrance fee, but this is not one of them.  The only problem now is probably managing to keep time, since the venue is mysterious. Participants have to be at their choice of joint pick-up as suggested while paying the registration fee to the event.What would you bring to an all-white picnic?Participants will carry their picnic items, including food, plates, forks and drinks (to those who want – but there will be various restaurants selling food), and meet at different points in the city where they are then transported by bus to a secret location where the event will be held. According to the organisers of the event Kigali Diner en Blanc Team, when there, attendees will dine and enjoy entertainment and—when the event is over, will pack up all of their belongings, clear their picnic tables, and leave the site exactly as they found it upon arrival. The "Diner en Blanc” event was created in Paris in 1988 by François Pasquier, with the goal of sharing a delicious meal with friends and respecting public spaces, along with a touch of elegance and secrecy. Launched with just a handful of friends more than 20 years ago, Paris’ Dîner en Blanc, brings together nearly 15,000 people each year in some of the most prestigious locations throughout the French capital. The event is now hosted in over a dozen cities around the world, including Lyon, Amsterdam, Munich, Zürich, Berlin, Montreal, Quebec City and New York. This year the event is being held in Paris, Milan, New York, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Quebec, Philadelphia, Singapore, Vancouver, Brisbane and, now Kigali.As Kigali celebrates 50 years of independence, the city is alive with activity and possibilities.