In May, we hosted our first Dining in the Dark of 2026 at Brix Cider in Mount Horeb. We were joined by a fantastic and diverse crowd of guests who came to both learn about the dining experience for people with vision loss and raise money for the Council.
Dining in the Dark is a unique culinary experience where participants enjoy their meal while blindfolded. The event invites participants to focus on senses other than sight to appreciate their food and their dining companions. After the meal, Council staff lead discussions about enjoying food without vision and answer questions about living with blindness or low vision. While Dining in the Dark events take place nationwide, ours puts the emphasis on this post-meal discussion to center the lives of people with vision loss. This discussion helps build a bridge of understanding and better relate to the everyday experiences of people who are blind or low vision.
Richard and Krista Ralston of Madison joined us for their second Dining in the Dark at Brix Cider. Richard, who is fully sighted, and Krista, who has macular degeneration, say the meal went great. What they didn’t expect, however, was the feeling of isolation they felt from not being able to see the other people at their table. “We really noticed that we weren’t sure who was around us,” Richard says. “We felt like we had to ask ‘Are you all still there?’ I felt like I had to focus on either the food or the people, not both at once.”
“Every time I stopped to talk to someone at the table, I had to go back and find my plate again when I went back to eating.” Krista says.
While they enjoyed the meal, the post-meal discussion was especially impactful. “It was really gratifying to hear from everyone else in the room about what they encountered during the meal, especially from the people who are blind or low vision, about how they manage the dining experience every day,” Richard says. “I feel like Dining in the Dark is such a great event to help people become better caregivers or spouses or just more understanding members of the general community.”
It’s not just the attendees who are doing the learning. Brix Cider co-owner Matt Raboin says Dining in the Dark has taught their staff about serving people with vision loss. “Sometimes it’s just simple things we don’t think about, like letting people know we’re there when we approach a table,” Matt says. “It’s great for our chef to think about food in a little bit of a different way, focusing on things like texture and how difficult it will be to eat without sight. We learn a lot in the after-dinner discussion about how people perceived the meal. It’s always such a unique and great event for us to host.”
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our May Dining in the Dark event, and to Brix Cider for being a wonderful host again this year. To stay up to date on our next Dining in the Dark event, subscribe to our weekly On Sight e-newsletter at WCBlind.org/Newsletter-Signup, follow the Council on social media, visit our Dining in the Dark web page at WCBlind.org/Events/Dining-In-The-Dark periodically.