Le Diner en Blanc Cincinnati

I’m having a really hard time trying to find the words to describe this event. It was absolutely gorgeous! Breathtaking, stunning, beautiful, fun, amazing… seriously, not just being cliche here.

It’s been described as a pop up fancy dinner. Part flash mob. Part picnic. Part fancy revelry. And when it all comes together, absolutely breathtaking!  It’s a semi exclusive event. Word of mouth and friends of friends basically. You and your friends meet up with a smaller group of about 50 people.

Then these groups meet up with 5 more groups and you’re transported to the secret location for that year. That’s when 1100 people this year spilled out of buses or from various downtown points and set up tables in long rows. Then proceeded to their picnic spread. There is an option to purchase baskets made by places like Orchids and Eat Well Celebrations. From what i saw they were huge! Had plenty to feed 2 and then pass some around. These will cost you though, anywhere from $60-$100.

You will be lucky to get into the event itself. It’s premise is friends coming together, Therefore it’s a friends of friends type gathering. Those that went this year, will be given a spot next year, and they can invite one other couple. Then if there is room, it will go to a wait list. The thing that seems to stop people is the fact that you do have to pay $24 a person, plus a one time $5 membership fee, to allow you to attend the events in the future. The fee goes towards venue rental, security, entertainment, and most importantly, the liquor license that allows us to consume wine and Champagne in a public area.

The most difficult yet kind of fun part, is finding everything you’ll need. You’re to bring a small square table (under 32×32 inches) 2 white chairs, a table cloth, nice place settings, glasses, a table setting/decorations, and a picnic basket with your dinner in it, as well as your drinks for the evening. You also are to dress all in white. They do have really nice contests though. They have a best table one, and a most elegant/creatively dresses group (of 2-4 couples); both offer a dinner for 6 cooked by chefs, such as Jean Robert of JR’s Table. And then there is the most elegantly/creatively dressed couple; this prize is a trip with airfare to Antigua!

Hubby ready for the first course

This year being in Lytle park was gorgeous! Queen City tower, and the Taft museum flanking us, lights in the trees, darn near everyone with candles. You arrive in a huge group and get set up quickly.  at about 7:15 napkins are waved and you start on your 3 courses. Or whatever else you’ve prepared. I used this as an excuse to have a little fun and indulge myself. I saw meat and cheese and fruit trays, dips and spreads and salads. Then you move on to your main course and lastly dessert. Everyone was friendly, and I saw most tables sharing with their neighbors, who most hadn’t met before this evening. It was a great time, and you could take your time and just enjoy it.

Napkin wave to signify the start of dinner!

Molly Wellman looking absolutely adorable.

Dinner

Dessert!

Then at around 9 Sparklers were lit by everyone  and balloons were released. For whatever reason, this was one of the highlights of the evening. I cant put into words how beautiful it was at that moment.

Hubby with his sparkler
Photo Credit: Jens G Rosenkrantz Jr

Balloons!!!

Then it was time to party. Champagne flowed freely, the dj was playing awesome music on the make shift dance floor and Framester was taking awesome photo booth shots! It was just so much fun, half the people didn’t want to leave at 11. But sadly it was time to go as magically and quickly as we arrived. I already can’t wait til next year!

I spy a Jenny K

If you missed it this year, I’m sorry you missed a truly magical event. There was no pretension, no fighting, just fun. Everyone from 25-80 was enjoying themselves at both dinner and the party. It was a spectacular time! hopefully, you know someone who’s willing to sign you up with them next year, so you can experience it for yourself. It’s really one of those kinds of events. But one that mere words still can not put into place.

<3

View my full gallery:

Edit: I’ve found a few more pics to share, and also I’ll post other places that are blogging about the evening!

The view of the park from the 11th floor of The Residence Inn.
Photo Credit: Shelley Groh

One of my favorite photobooth pics of the night!

Best Table Leaders ever!

Even the Hubby had a great time!

BFF’s!

See all Framester Photos Here

Check out more views and pictures here!:

Small Girl Adventures

Eggplant to Go

513Eats

Jenny K

Jens G Rosenkrantz

Haunted Cave

Holy freaking Satan, Batman! The Batcave has been infiltrated!

Forget anything about haunted houses you know! Heck, forget any haunted house you’ve ever been to for that matter! I can attest to Lewisburg Haunted Cave being Ohio’s number 1 haunt according to Ohio Valley. This place almost doesn’t have words to describe it! But I’m going to try anyways.

You start off descending 100 ft into the cave with the lights flickering and shorting out on you while you wait your turn to climb down into the depths of Hell itself.

Rickety bridges guide you over underground lakes as demented souls pop in and out of nowhere and everywhere. You walk through forests and graveyards and walk between moving walls to ultimately make a sacrifice to be able to proceed on your journey… if you’re lucky…

And then the demented come out to play as you attempt to make your way through 3 caverns of chain-link and strobe maze… never knowing if your coming or going or if you’ve seen the same people 17 different times. Warning: this is the first of 2 places where you’ll most likely spend the majority of your time.

When you finally (if you do) make it out, you are bombard by your own senses. You hear drums and cars echoing off of near pitch blackness as you try not to stray off the path and get lost in the 50+ miles of tunnels-even though at this point you’re pretty sure that’s already happened.

And you finally come to Satan himself in his throne of fire and gives you multiple choices on where to wander to next. This would be part 2 of your time consumption. Once you find the path that doesn’t lead you back to the devil, his trickery leads you to even more choices!! I will at least give you a small hint: to always check out a room entirely when you enter it before deciding which way to proceed next.

The demons come out in all the glory and deamonness as you try to make your way out. Some of which are truly an amazing site. And just when you think you will never see the light of day again, along with experiencing mass amounts of deja vu, you realize there really is a light at the end of the tunnel!

I am a person that absolutely  loves haunted house, even though most don’t scare me thanks to years working in a haunt, but this one truly got to me. This isn’t as much a Boo scary as it is a total mind freak scary. All of your senses are tested here and its just crazy! But definitely at the top of my list, as it should be yours!

They also have a historical mine ride done by the historical society with proceeds going directly to the society. This is not a scary wagon ride. They tell you about the history of the mine. It is kinda neat to do… but the pull for this attraction? *shudders* the bats. Here you get up close and personal with the sleeping/hibernating bats hanging literally a foot or 2 above your head or on the walls across from you. Neat but freaky!

I totally 115% recommend you be thee shortly before it opens at 7, or you will be waiting in line. This place gets packed, and for good reason!

Kings Dominion’s Halloween Haunt

Ok so we hit all the Haunts, 2 scare zones and a night ride on Intimadator 305. All in under an hour and a half on a Friday night Got there and park was pretty much dead (half pun intended lol). I’m going to put a disclaimer here and let you know I took off a point already for masks. almost EVERY actor had one on. Most houses didn’t need them. Doll Factory was the only one where ot didn’t look completely pathetic… So here’s my breakdown:

Kamp Killauee: 5/10 Theming was awesome!! Great concept but not much follow through with the scares. there were a few but meh. the bunkhouse was the best. one of the few rooms set up along the pathway.

The Harvest (scarezone) 2/10 only a few actors set up like a field kinda cornstalkerish. a lot of just running from one side to the other. not much interaction, which is kinda the point of scarezones

Blue Ridge Bloodbath: 6/10 LOVE the concept of getting to drive the antique cars and go through a haunt at the same time (that gave it an extra point lol) but they had the tops up on the cars so u couldn’t see as well. But I soon found out why as a scareactor hit the top and I’ll admot made me jump. I wanted more from it… like hopping in the seat next to me or the front or back of the car… but i know Cedar Fair isn’t about good scares sometimes lol

The Asylum: 4/10 Again good concept not much follow through. chain link and black tarps. A guy running into padded walls on a doctor chair and a creepy nurse were the highlights. they were crazy but not crazy scary.

Toxic Plague: 7 Awesome concept!!! It’s set up as a sewer with creepy crawlies, bugs, rats, snakes etc. it had some neat blacklight sludge effecrs that were rad. one room had “maggots” that fell on your head as the actor told us. I’m still not sure if it was rice or sand or what but definately creepy. If you don’t do bugs and critters this would definately creep you the hell out!

Club Blood: 6/10 An extra point for their theming!! Holy crap it was the best set up I’ve seen in a Club Blood yet! set in Tokyo perhaps, needed a DJ in the “club scene”. Hard to tell it was vampires tho. They did have “glass cages” after the club which were neat and added a surprise sound and air blast element.

SlaughterHouse: 6/10 This one again had great sets. Half of it was better than Kings Islands other parts seemed lacking. They had a good intro. The tour director leads you through 2 rooms and “just can’t go any farther” It had some good surprise spots.

Medeival Macabre: 3/10 So props to using the scented fog and what not but it was waaaayyyy overbearing throughout. again it would be 2 times better without masks. there was one area of about 15 actors. a little much?! Just not much popping…

Feary Tales (scarezone) 3/10 and only from one of the actors following some dumbasses around trying to steal props and talking about Alice being a whore LOL. much like The Harvest, but more effort.

Doll Factory: 8/10 the best so far! here the masks worked the makeup worked there dolls and doll parts and dollhouse rooms everywhere!!! Very high on the creepyness factor. The actors were good had robotic movements that added to the beleivable factor and overall incredibly well done! the setup was amazing!!

Alien Outpost: 5.5/10 Great concept through the flight of fear coaster queue. Here the costumes were more believable and the masks they did have worked. Actors used the corners and ride props to their advantage. But 2 declining factors. 1. you should get a choice to ride or go through their exit (they had the ride line closed) 2. There is just way too much dead space of going back and forth through queue lines wth no actors even. lots of potential not much follow through.

And topping it off with a night ride on Intmidator 305 doesn’t hurt either