Thousands Gather For Secret Flash Mob Dinner At Lincoln Center

Dressed In White, Guests Break Bread After Location Revealed Via E-mail

August 20, 2012 11:20 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Guess who came to dinner?

The answer is 3,000 people — all dressed in white.

The flash mob descended on the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Monday night in Manhattan. It was all part of the second annual Diner en Blanc in New York City.

The venue was a surprise until just before the flash-mob feast started at 7 p.m. Registered guests got e-mails telling them where to go.

Sandy Safi, the co-founder of the group, said a lot of people wanted to be there.

“Thirty thousand people on the waiting list last year. We added another 7,000 I think this year,” she told 1010 WINS’ Gary Baumgarten.

Those attending the viral meetup had to wear white, bring white folding tables and chairs along with white tablecloths.

Pop-up picnics will also be staged in Philadelphia on Thursday, Chicago on Friday, and next week in Vancouver, Singapore and Brisbane, Australia.

Diner en Blanc, French for dinner in white, started in Paris in 1988 by a group of friends. The free-of-charge event grew by word of mouth and social media to dozens of cities worldwide.

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