Imagine a picnic dinner held at a location only made known hours before the meal, where guests are invited to decorate tables and chairs, bring their favorite dishes and wear white to reflect the simplicity of the event. This was the scene at a PopUp dinner held on June 13 in Brooklyn, New York's Prospect Park. PopUp dinners are popping up nationwide -- not just in Brooklyn. Garrett Sathre and his wife and business partner, Nicole Benjamin-Sathre are the team behind Hand Made Events and the creators and hosts of PopUp dinners. Sathre, a former restaurateur and head chef with Bubba's Diner and Kitchen 39, both located in the Bay Area, came up with the concept of the flash dinner after he was inspired by the annual Diner en Blanc held in Paris. In 2011, Hand Made Events used the power of social media to get the word out and soon, enough interest was attracted. In October 2011, it held its first flash dinner, calling the evening Le Diner a San Francisco at Golden Gate Park's outdoor Music Pavilion. He described it as a picnic dinner for 3,500 people."I thought we would have anywhere between 300-500 people to attend. Two articles ran a week later about my crazy idea and we got 15,000 emails within three days,"Sathre said. After the success of the San Francisco dinner, Sathre decided to expand his"crazy idea"and hold dinners across the country in major markets such as Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Sathre says their Brooklyn PopUp on June 13 sold 5,000 tickets in just four days with 5,000 on the waiting list raising over $160,000 in ticket sales. Those are some big numbers. Hand Made Events partners with the Prospect Park Alliance and gives all of their proceeds to the non-profit group. In total, the Brooklyn PopUp dinner raised over $60,000 for the Prospect Park Alliance. Hand Made Events sees the same interest in their smaller city locations."We have seen a 30 percent increase in our smaller markets -- Minneapolis, San Diego, Charleston, and Miami every year,"Sathre said. Hand Made Events has eight more dinners planned nationwide this year, and six already scheduled for next year. The popularity is not just here in the states. Sathre says he sees photos of other groups holding similar events everywhere through social media. Just last year, Hand Made Events helped a woman in Kenya plan her own flash dinner via Skype."This event crosses and appeals to all cultures. There are not many events, if any, that bring all people together like the PopUp,"he said. Which words can best describe the event held in Brooklyn?
Popular and simple. Creative but undesirable. Random and crazy. Inspiring but unsuccessful.