The Blind Café Promotes Human Connection in the Dark
Thursday, October 01, 2015
The Blind Café is a Thanksgiving style dinner party and facilitated heart-to-heart led by legally blind keynote speakers. The discussion answers questions posed by those who are “sighted” (e.g. not legally blind). Also, there's a musical act at the end to boot.
The entire event takes place in 100% darkness so that all involved are on equal footing in terms of vision.
GoLocalPDX spoke with Executive Director of the Blind Café Brian Rocheleau about the event.
“The Blind Café is a darkness company,” Rocheleau told GoLocal. “We create positive social changes in the dark.”
“We teach social conditioning and social etiquette while in the dark,” Rocheleau said. “At the end, we light one candle in the middle of the room and the whole room opens up. When the light goes on with the candle, it’s like we’ve all woken up from this collective dream together. It’s about bonding – a shared experience.”
Indeed, the Blind Café consists of two intimate groups of forty to fifty individuals during two separate time slots each of the three nights.
Prices are incredibly amenable. There is a sliding scale system so that the event is “available to anyone who wants to come and learn,” according to Rocheleau. “The sliding scale is $45 to $195, but whatever price you pay, you get the same experience. If you pay over 85, you’re helping us sustain the sliding scale so we can give to more people.”
Though you may not be able to see all of the magic of the Blind Café, you will definitely be able to feel it through your attendance. Look for tickets HERE.
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