The Portland Blind Cafe, is a mind bending/heart opening experience where the audience will indulge in a vegetarian 'Sensory Tasting Experience' sourced from local sponsors and farms, participate in a Q & A forum with their blind wait staff & enjoy an 'unencumbered music listening' concert of original music by Rosh & One Eye Glass Broken...all in the complete pitch dark!!!

About the event:

A delicious vegetarian 'Sensory Tasting Experience' will be prepared to delight your senses by our lovely volunteers and a local Chef. We source as much of the produce and food from local sponsors and farms as possible. You will be sharing tables 'family style' with other guests working together to get your food.

Your heart and mind will be opened as you celebrate and explore the darkness with Rick Hammond, a blind skoen word artist from and the rest of our awesome blind waitstaff. A question and answer forum will offer you opportunities to learn about the lives of blind persons by sharing in their personal stories.

You will experience an 'unencumbered music listening' concert, without the distraction of visual conditioning, social etiquette & your cell phones! This is a 'quiet listening experience' where the audience is empowered as a group to practice listening to music deeply. Rarely, do people actually 'listen' to live music anymore. The darkness will allows you a chance to go deeply inside yourself, with the rhythms, melodies and lyrics of the music, in ways you may never have before.

This is NOT, just a another dinner in the dark...it's a community experience where people connect, learn and grow from working together to participate in something greater than themselves. The Portland Blind Cafe is designed to help you feel more alive, awake, present and connected to your world.

With the love and laughter of those at your table you will break bread together, building friendship and community on a night you will never forget or SEE! A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to a local organization that helps to improve the lives of the blind community in your area.

What people are saying about The Blind Cafe...

“It was easily one of the best dates I have taken my wife on all year and we experienced a closeness in the darkness that was rare in a public place.”

-Marco Lam | Acupuncturist Boulder, CO


"The Blind Café does not try to perfectly recreate blindness. Instead, it allows people to interact, trust each other, and experience community in an entirely new way. In the dark, there are no uncomfortable glances, no self-consciousness about what you’re wearing or what you weigh, no distinction between the sighted and blind. In a room specially outfitted with heavy cloth to be pitch black, diners get the rare chance to relax into themselves and enjoy music, food, and the company of others. You will bond with other diners at your table as you work together to pass the bread and feel out what exactly it is you are eating."

- Erin Greenhalgh / Boulder.com


"It dawned on me that I most likely hadn’t listened to music in the dark like this since I was a young teenager. It was so liberating to allow my mind and ears to focus on instrumentation with no visual input. I couldn’t tell if Rosh was on some shockingly coveted Martin guitar, or some $200 Korean-made junker. It must have been something of decent caliber, as it sounded wonderful, but was that because I was only listening that it sounded that good?"

- Brian Johnson | The Marquee

"My husband, Aaron and I made a date night out of The Blind Cafe and it actually made a pretty big impact on our marriage...I realized (again) how important it is to just enjoy the life that I've been given, so since then I've been cutting back on things that to me are superfluous, and been focusing on what's really important."

- Elizabeth Lehr / Austin Blind Cafe Guest

"Man I can not thank you enough. It was such a moving incredible experience. Hands down the most amazing event I've attended and I've attended events at Mt Everest, the Taj and a lot of places in between. Your music was a huge highlight."

- Chase | Portland Blind Cafe Guest

"What a wonderful event – we had a lovely evening last night at The Portland Blind Cafe. You and your team did an excellent job, food was delicious, music touched the heart, and the sense of community created in such a small space of time was remarkable. Thank you!"
- Moira | Portland Blind Cafe Guest

"I am so glad I was given the great gift of attending the “Blind Café” last Thursday night. It was truly an unforgettable experience. Great food, company and opportunity to lean. I have to admit, I wept a little in silence during the music portion of the program. The sound wrapped me like a blanket and I guess I felt so warm and comforted (and unseen, in the dark) that it to me."
- Mary Langman | PDX Guest


"I attended The Portland Blind Cafe last Friday, and I just wanted to express my deepest gratitude for your willingness to perform this service in our community. I've never felt more safe, at ease with myself, and connected to people around me then when I was sitting in that darkened room sharing a meal, listening to others, and bonding through music."
- Beth Hemmila


"Hard to choose... Dancing with Jim (one of the waitstaff) who randomly asked me. It was the most freeing experience. Like dancing in outer space... Or maybe the song we all sang together (funny how you're less afraid to sing when nobody is looking)... Or maybe just the instant rapport we developed with strangers at our table... It was all amazing."
- Robin Parker | PDX Guest

"I was one of the very lucky and grateful guests who shared the amazing experience of your Blind Cafe on Saturday night. What a truly informative and inspiring evening. You helped us push our boundaries just a little bit further, the food was delicious, a great mixture of people - all ages and interests and the speakers and your music were spot on."

- Nancy Thompson | PDX Guest