My Night at the Blind Cafe

by Tammy Curry

On Saturday, July 16, 2011, my partner and I attended the Boulder Blind Café, an event to “Dine & Experience a Concert in the Pitch Dark!”  I feel fortunate to be able to share my experience with Vision Through Words.  This is only an account of a sighted person’s 3 hours in darkness.  While I have a deeper appreciation, respect and understanding of those who are visually impaired, I am sure it only scratches the surface of the lives of those in the blind community.  I write this article respectfully and with gratitude to the Blind Café.

To begin with, it was quite impressive, not only how many people showed up to the event, but also how well it was organized.  Once it was time to enter, we lined up in designated groups, put our right hands on each other’s shoulders and followed our blind guide into his world.  Once through several layers of thick canvas hanging in front of the door, we took small steps together.  We walked and weaved in a room the size of a ballroom, listening to sounds of those around us.  When our guide brought us to a table, he found my hand and placed it on the chair, something I was grateful for.  Sitting down I tried to get acquainted with the surroundings and found the food already served.  I needed to be very gentle with my exploring as I did not know if I would knock something over, or even put my hand in someone else’s food. 

We didn’t know what we were eating so I tried to figure out what was on the plate though touch.  I felt salad – that was an easy one, but not easy to get onto my fork so I used my fingers to help guide the salad on the fork to my mouth.  I picked up what seemed like a cooked grape, but when I bit into it, it was a cherry tomato with its juice and seeds breaking open into my mouth as if it were the first time I ever ate a tomato.  Eventually, the chef came out and discussed what was served which included polenta, salad, quinoa, goat cheese balls, and fresh peaches whose fuzzy skin seemed to be that much fuzzier.

Dinner was followed by a Q & A session with the staff which was full of great questions, interesting stories and laughter.  In-house poet, Rick Hammond recited some beautiful poems in the darkness and silence of the room.  Shortly thereafter began the music of Rosh & One Eye-Glass Broken which felt extremely intimate and peaceful with nothing to distract the melody floating in the dark air.

At the end of the event, the group slowly brought light to the room by lighting candles.  I looked around and found that the “ballroom” we walked through was only a large room and the volume of the conversation came from only about 100 people, not hundreds as I had imagined. 

During the evening my emotional and physical sensations varied each moment.  Physically, it felt like I had my eyes closed yet could not open them.  My eyes strained trying to adjust and I had to close my eyes to allow them to rest.  I felt awkward in my movements so I kept a very small parameter, feeling a bit confined in my space.  Emotionally, I felt vulnerable and isolated during the meal, but felt relaxed and connected to my partner during the concert as I was only required to listen.  I found a need to reach out and touch my partner to feel his presence, love and security.  He was an anchor in the darkness. 

Three words I take with me from this experience are: Patience – with myself, with others, and with the situation around me; Trust – I had to trust others as it was crucial and I had to hope that everyone had the same intentions that I did; and Community – from the guidance to my chair, to the conversations at our table, I definitely felt that I lost my sighted independence and could not do this alone. 

Between the conversation, the meal and the music, the Blind Café taught me that you do not need to see in order to enjoy the beauty in the world.   

Tammy Curry is a graphic artist and a subscriber to Vision Through Words.