An upcoming event hosted by Rotary Club of Airdrie at Night will offer an evening of mystery and intrigue while introducing the new club to the community.
According to Cole Porter, Rotary at Night president, Dinner in White is modelled after Diner en Blanc events that occur around the world.
“It’s where everyone dresses in white and all the décor is in white,” she said. “Traditionally, everyone has to bring their own chairs, picnic style table, and they can be catered. We’re going to change it up a little bit – we’re providing chairs [and] we’re going to have a catered dinner just to make it a little bit easier for the first year.”
The outdoor, family-friendly dinner will be catered by Kimberley Ford, known locally as the “Souper Lady,” and will also feature entertainment and beer and wine for purchase, Porter said.
Attendees of the Aug. 15 event will need to dress in white and bring their own white table linens, Porter said, adding they can also bring decorations to place on the tables.
The event will begin at 6 p.m. somewhere in Airdrie, but Porter did not disclose the location, adding an air of mystery to the evening.
“That’s part of the Diner en Blanc,” she said. “They don’t announce it until the day of, and then everyone comes last minute to this place.”
Ticket-holders for the event will be notified of the event’s location the day prior to the dinner, through a mass text, email or a phone call. Porter added there is a contingency plan in case of rain.
“We should be done around 8:30 or 9 p.m.,” she said. “It is a Thursday night [and] we know that people have work in the morning, so we’re not going to do anything too long.”
According to Porter, the event is meant to fulfill two purposes – serving as an introduction of the new Rotary club to the community, and helping it support local causes.
Rotary at Night was established in March, Porter said, in order to cater to local residents that were interested in joining Airdrie rotary but were not able to make it to meetings on Tuesday afternoons. The club meets twice-monthly at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, and currently boasts 19 members.
“We’re hoping to have an info booth [at the dinner] for people to go see what Rotary has done within Airdrie in the last 30 years,” she said.
The event will also help Rotary at Night establish a pool of money that can be used to support local non-profit groups. Rotary is focused on fundraising for local organizations, Porter said, and the new club is still in the process of deciding which organizations and causes it will support. Funds raised through ticket sales for the dinner will be banked until the club has identified how it wants to give back to the community.
Tickets are currently available at airdriedinnerinwhite.simpletix.com, or through the Rotary Club of Airdrie at Night’s Facebook page. The cutoff for tickets is Aug. 11, and only 200 tickets are available.
Porter said tickets cost $50 per person and can be purchased in singles or pairs. Tables of four, six and eight can also be purchased.
