Diner en Blanc Kigali 2014 – Musings, Mishaps, and Merriment
In about forty major cities across the world, summertime means time to prepare for Diner en Blanc. Diner en Blanc is an all-white-everything dinner that began in Paris in the 1980’s. From over 15, 000 attendees in Paris, to about 300 in Kigali, participants are united by their willingness to be whimsical in white on a fine summer’s evening.
Registrations are usually done online a few weeks before the event, and attendees are provided with a meeting place, but the location of the actual dinner remains a secret. Once they arrive at the meeting place, they are shuttled to the dinner itself. Ok, I can dig a little mystery. The catch is that you have to bring everything: the food, cutlery, tables, chairs, décor…everything. And all of it has to be white (well, except the food). The latter part is why I never went to any Diner en Blancs in the U.S. I was not about to be lugging all that stuff on public transportation. No thanks.
Unlike many other cities, the Kigali organizers provide the tables and chairs. They even allow attendees to order food from local restaurants that deliver at the location, so the load of stuff to bring is way more manageable. Once I realized how little I had to do in Kigali, I was in. After all, a girl needs a reason to dress up once in a while.
Imagine my distress when we arrived at the secret location (more on this later) and everyone was finding their tables and laying out their decorations, whilst my poor table was empty. So I did the best thing I could do in this situation. I scoped out the tables near me, spotted one that had an extra seat, and became fast friends with them. And just like that I had a table for the night.
In the midst of me trying to figure out where my missing tablemates were, mishap #2 occurred: my right shoe fell apart. As in, the sole ran away from the 4 inch heel. Praise baby Jesus that I had flip flops in my bag. (The only reason I had the flip flops was because I had to hustle from my house to make it to the bus on time. See how being on Jamaican/CP/African time saved me here? Punctuality ain’t everything!) So I did a discreet little shoe change and kept it moving.
This event is a little more bourgie than my average. That being said, I was really impressed with the level of preparation and coordination that went into the outfits and table décor. People brought floral arrangements, ornate candlebras, balloons, pans of steaming food, and table furnishings that looked fit for a luxurious photoshoot. Some went as far as to create intricate canopies over their tables. From samurais, to aliens and Arabs, attendees got extremely creative with fly gear and tableware.
The highlight of the night was the dinner being punctuated by a marriage proposal. This is the stuff romantic comedies are made of: Darling we’ve been together for four years now, and you see everyone is here in all white. (Yes, he actually said something along those lines, and we all waited with bated breath till she said ‘yes’.)
If there was one thing I could have changed about this event, it would have been the location. The buses left from several central locations in town and drove through the winding Kigali roads, through Nyaraturama and Gacuriro, up to Acacia Gardens in Kagugu. Once we got out of Gacuriro, we were very clearly driving through a community full of people who probably could not afford to attend an event like this. By the time I was pulling up, it looked like the entire neighborhood was out, peering into the buses’ windows, trying to decipher the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of these strangers rolling through their neighborhood in enveloped in white. Obviously I cannot speak for these people. Maybe they could afford to attend and I am in the wrong for assuming they could not. Maybe they didn’t care at all. Maybe some of them were hired to work at the event and got a direct economic benefit. I could very well be projecting my own version of white guilt unto them (let’s call it expat guilt). Nevertheless, I found it to be … gauche. Acacia Gardens itself was a beautiful location, I just didn’t like the route up.
Unsettling driving route aside, this was a really well-organized event. I would do it again. I’d even go alone and sit with random strangers. And I’ll definitely bring backup pair of shoes, just in case 😉
p.s. The rules prohibited bringing liquor. I am fairly certain I am the only person that followed that rule and brought non-alcoholic wine. Act accordingly if you go next year.
*Shoutout to Anne from @eeloom who followed up with me when she noticed I hadn’t finished registering, and held my spot till I got back to Rwanda from Jamaica so I could pay in person, after registration closed. That’s some good customer service. Merci!
You can view the official event photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/illume-cs/sets/72157646687235872
