Nearly 8,000 people wanted access to Dallas' inaugural secret dinner party

Diner en Blanc, a Parisian tradition for nearly 30 years, was made for Dallas.

The dinner party has all the trappings of a fabulous Dallas event: It's a dinner party, hosted in a secret location, with a strict dress code. And you must (must!) be invited to attend.

So it shouldn't come as a shock that thousands wanted to attend Dallas' inaugural Diner en Blanc, hosted Thursday, Sept. 17. Of the 1,600-some guests in attendance, the organizers report exclusively to The Dallas Morning News that 8,000 people wanted a seat.

You can look at that two ways: 1, This dinner excluded thousands of hungry foodies. Or 2, Next year, they're gonna need a bigger bridge.

Speaking of: The top-secret location of the dinner was the Continental Avenue pedestrian bridge, which runs parallel to the picturesque Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas.

Attendees wore white, head to toe, and carried in their own tables, chairs and centerpieces. Many people packed their own picnic and dined among more than a thousand strangers, all smartly dressed for the Dallas dining event of the season.

They're already scoping for a larger location for next year's party, which will be sometime in 2016 at -- no surprise -- a secret location.

The parties are known to grow after the inaugural year anyhow, says organizer Karen Raehpour. Diner en Blanc has blossomed over a few decades to an incredible 13,000 people in Paris this year. That's a big dinner party.

It wasn't exactly surprising that 8,000 people in Dallas alone wanted to attend a party they'd likely never even been to before, the hosts say. Events take place famously across the globe, in cities such as London, Sydney, Johannesburg, Mexico City and Houston.

"Dallas likes to party," said one of the co-hosts. "We want Dallas to do it better than ever." 

Raehpour, joined by co-hosts Marti Fox and Rachael Kissel, will not make any money hosting the event. The three event planners donated their time planning Dallas' Diner en Blanc -- and it became a full-time job. Though attendees purchased $37-per-person tickets to the event, that money did not cover permits and other necessary expenses, Raehpour says. Sponsors Southwest Airlines, Celebrity Cruises and Apothic Wine covered the rest.

Event organizers wouldn't say when the 2016 Diner en Blanc will take place, or where. Say it with me now: It's a secret.

Check out photos from the exclusive Dallas event:

...

25 images

View Gallery