The city’s diversity and elegance will shine again with the third annual Le Diner en Blanc-Richmond, a chic, pop- up dinner where diners wear all white, bring their own white tables, chairs, tablecloths and dishes — no plastic or paper allowed — and nosh on picnic fare they bring or pre-purchase and then pack up and go home, taking everything, including all leftovers and trash, with them.

Ayana Obika, along with Christine Wansleben and Enjoli Moon, set Le Diner en Blanc- Richmond in motion in the River City two years ago.

More than 1,000 people attended last year, with participants learning the dinner’s secret location only a short time before its start.

Ms. Obika, a 1981 graduate of Hampton University and professional event planner, learned about Le Diner en Blanc from an industry publication about 10 years ago.

“I was smitten,” she says. She reached out to the Diner en Blanc organization, which started the affairs in Paris in 1988, and was told to put together a three-person host team and submit a proposal for consideration.

“The three of us came together in 2016,” Ms. Obika said of the team with Ms. Wansleben and Ms. Moon. “They saw the vision. Our personalities clicked and we gelled.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

During the inaugural Le Diner en Blanc-Richmond in 2017, diners converged on the grounds of the Science Museum of Virginia, former home of Union Station complete with train tracks, for the elegant affair. Last year, participants flooded the front lawn of the Virginia Museum of History and Culture on Arthur Ashe Boulevard. The sea of participants clad in white brought arrangements of summer flowers to grace their tables, which were set in white, with dishes and glasses of wine and champagne. There was food, music and fun.

The affair requires diners to embrace the event’s tradition and strict rules “to make the magic happen,” Ms. Obika says.

The evening, she says, starts with the waving of a cloth napkin signaling the start of dinner and, later, the lighting of sparklers to indicate it’s time to mix and mingle, dance and celebrate.

The uncommon evening ends with the blast of a trumpet.

Le Diner en Blanc events now take place in more than 70 cities around the world, Ms. Obika says. Some fans even travel to different cities to take part in events.

Le Diner en Blanc’s mission is simple, Ms. Obika says: To bring people together to celebrate friendship, the city and great cuisine.

“You cannot forget the food,” she says.

“People like to dress up, celebrate and connect in unique ways,” says Ms. Obika, who worked at a local costume shop for several years. “If you can get people of different backgrounds together to eat and party together, then maybe we can start to eliminate the fences that separate us,” she says.

While this year’s event on Saturday, Aug. 17, is sold out, people can start watching the group’s social media, which will put out a call for volunteers and for people to sign up for next year, Ms. Obika says.

“The concept of dressing in all white makes everyone the same,” she says. “However, it is always elegant. Ladies pull out all of the stops with big hats and fancy dresses. Everyone looks marvelous. Everyone looks like they belong together.”

Spectators also have the same reaction of amazement when they see the hundreds of people assembled.

“Last year when we hosted on Arthur Ashe Boulevard,” she recalls, “we were delighted to see a resident (who saw the group from the upstairs of her home across the street) “put on a white dress and come out on her balcony to dance and enjoy the festivities. That was an ‘everything’ moment!”

Richmond’s event “is unique from other cities because of the city itself, as we highlight our unique history and culture,” Ms. Obika says. “We put our spin on it as we also involve local vendors and artists.”

But as in the past, great food and conversation is expected.

“Come prepared to enjoy yourself,” Ms. Obika says. “Be patient. Meet and make a new friend. Celebrate life with us.”

Meet an organizer and “hostess with the mostest,” this week’s Personality, Ayana Obika:

No. 1 volunteer position: Co-host of Le Diner en Blanc-Richmond.

Date and place of birth: Feb. 3 in Richmond.

Current residence: Richmond’s Bellevue.

Education: Bachelor’s in political science, Hampton Institute, now Hampton University.

Family: Four wonderful and grown children, Ebun (Miguel), Omari, Amir and Nia, and six beautiful grand-dears, with one more on the way.

When and how I got involved with the Le Diner en Blanc-Richmond: I have been planning and producing events for more than 20 years. I love themed, costumed and pop-up events. One day while checking out an industry publication, I came across an article about a Le Diner en Blanc event taking place in New York City and I was smitten. That was about 10 years ago.

My duties: I am one of three co-hosts of the Richmond event. My role is handling administrative tasks and recruiting and training volunteers. However, all three co-hosts touch every part of the production of the event and we make decisions as a team.

Why it’s important for Richmond to be a part of this? Le Diner en Blanc is an event that was created to celebrate friendship and the city where it takes place. Having worked at a local costume shop for several years, I learned that Richmonders love to dress up and love a reason to celebrate. Even with the issues that we acknowledge happening within our city, we want an op- portunity to come together and celebrate our city and friendship. We, the co-hosts, also saw an opportunity to bring people of different races together for an awesome night of dining and finding commonalities. If you can get people of different backgrounds together to eat and party together, then maybe we can start to eliminate the fences that separate us.

When founded: The event was launched in Paris 31 years ago by François Pasquier with just a handful of friends. Last year, Le Diner en Blanc-Paris celebrated its 30th anniversary with 30,000 guests in attendance.

Top challenge in Richmond: Our biggest challenge as we grow the event — we have a waiting list of more than 7,000 — is finding locations that are large enough and meet all of the other specific requirements of the international office. We are always on the lookout for unique locations and usually start talking about the next year’s location as we are planning the current event.

Dream for the event: To have each edition deliver joy to ev- eryone who attends or witnesses the event.

Outlook at start of day: Excited and praying for no rain.

A quote that I am inspired by: “The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.” — Jeffrey Zaslow and Randy Pausch in “The Last Lecture.”

Something I love to do that most people would never imagine: Camping. I love being outdoors.

Best late-night snack: Plain Lay’s potato chips.

Quality I most admire in others: Loyalty and I love a dreamer-visionary.

Greatest source of inspiration: My parents and my teachers — all of them.

Favorite recreational activity: Taking long hikes with my dog.

Biggest chance I ever took: Risk taking is part of my DNA. So I’m not sure how to quantify this.

Best thing my parents ever taught me: My parents died when I was young, but they both stressed the importance of education.

At the top of my “to-do” list: To take the train from coast to coast.

The person who influenced me the most: It would be either my parents or my children. I have learned so much about life and love from all of them.

Book that influenced me the most: “Song of Solomon” by Toni Morrison. And I have to include “The Power of Intention” by Wayne Dyer.

What I’m reading now: “Parable of the Sower” and “Kindred,” both by Octavia E. Butler.

Next goal: To take a beach vacation with my whole family.