DO THIS: Dîner en Sweatpants Gives a Middle Finger to Those Other Dîners


Next Thursday, 3,500 Philadelphians will slip into a head-to-toe white ensemble to schmooze and booze it up at the third annual Dîner en Blanc. If you don’t know, the annual event invites folks out to a pop-up picnic that’s held at a secret location in the city. For the price of $68.50 two guests are required to wear white, bring food (of any color) and bring white accoutrements (table cloths, etc … ). It really is quite lovely to behold, but, let’s face it, the thing’s just begging for mockery.

Chris Nowaczyk, a cancer researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, recently announced that he’d be throwing a cheeky Dîner en Noir on the same night as Dîner en Blanc. His guests—likely around 500—will pay $50 (for a table of two) to have a similar experience, except they’ll be wearing a much more form-flattering all-black getup.

Don’t have time for all that outfit-planning? Enter your third option: Dîner en Sweatpants.

TicketLeap’s Rachel Robbins’ big middle finger to those other Dîner’s lets you wear whatever the hell you want, but “We hope it’s sweatpants—or some other funny pants.” It’s free. She’s already revealed the location: Clark Park. You can bring a blanket of any color, the sloppiest food you can imagine, you can even use your saggy old pants as a napkin—without the threat of side-eye. There will be music, and it’s taking place at the same time as the Clark Park Farmer’s Market, so you can pick up everything you need there if you’re too lazy to package up something beforehand—and let’s face it, you probably will be.

Dîner en Sweatpants takes place on Thursday, August 21st, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Clark Park (43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue). You can make reservations and get more info here.