Indra Raj: [00:00:00] This is KGNU Community Radio. My name is Indra Raj, and I am so happy to be welcomed by Richie Flores, who is a blind ambassador for the Blind Cafe, which will be coming to the Dairy Arts Center, September 19th through 21st, right here in Boulder.
Welcome to KGNU Riche.
Richie Flores: Great to be here. Thanks for inviting us.
Indra Raj: I know this isn’t the first time the Blind Cafe has come through Boulder, is this the first time that it is coming to the Dairy Performing Arts Center?
Richie Flores: No Dairy Art Center is one of our the Blind Cafe was actually originated in 2010 in Boulder. And so we’ve had quite a few different homes in Boulder that have in. Invited us to offer a musical performance, a meaningful conversation and a tasting experience, all in 100% darkness.
And and yeah, so we’ve been all over the place in Boulder, but the dairy art center has been our home, at least for the last five years. We do an annual thing there.
Indra Raj: you touched on it there, but tell us a little [00:01:00] bit about the history of the Blind Cafe experience, how it came to be and how it’s gotten to where it is now.
Richie Flores: So again, you can find a lot of our information on the blind cafe.com. But it basically, the story started with the executive director of the Blind Cafe Roosh, who’s a musician, was traveling out, in Europe doing house concerts and he ran into a version of a cafe in the Dark. And so he brought that concept back to Boulder and created the Blind Cafe and enhanced it with a program that included a musical performance.
So a concert in the dark and then also a nourishing tasting experience. And also. Raach found out that he needed the help of blind individuals to offer awareness, education support to the community members who are experiencing, no vision for the first time. And yeah, blind Cafe has been around since 2010 mainly as a community building.
Project we also now dived into, and [00:02:00] probably our primary work now is with corporate and team building experiences in offering people a way to build community and learn some leadership and challenge themselves in unique ways by the powerful tool of 100% organic darkness.
Indra Raj: For this specific run of events, is there anything special planned outside of the ordinary? What can people expect?
Richie Flores: People can definitely expect the usual, which is a cool tasting experience. So you can taste some diversity of culture. Also a listening experience with offering the stories of lived experience of blindness and able to have a q and a with blind staff who are local to the area.
And then the musical component usually involves the music of Rosh. One Eye glass broken and roosh and the blind Cafe Orchestra. I, myself, Richie Flores Project will perform some music. I write some music. And this year we’re including James Carson, who is a well renowned traveling pianist who has performed at the dairy before.
So he’s a [00:03:00] friend of the dairy as well. And so we’re collaborating and offering them a spot as well to, give a different musical exchange with folks in the dark. James Carson, Richie Flores project Roosh and the Blank Cafe Orchestra. All. You can find us all on where you can stream most places, but yeah, the blank cafe.com, if you wanna come check it out.
Indra Raj: Yeah. And tell me a little bit more about the music. Is there a specific genre that people can expect more of? Is it eclectic? What kind of music is typically brought to the Blind Cafe experience?
Richie Flores: One thing we really value is not just the performance of Beautiful Noise, but also, inspirational and thought provoking lyrics. And so both Rosh and I our music is on the singer songwriter side of life and very story driven. Personal experience driven mostly hopefully to connect with most people in the community who feel, life, love, hardship things like that.
I, as a blind [00:04:00] person use a lot of inferences to, the four other senses that people sometimes are too distracted with their vision to appreciate. So smelling things and appreciating, taste, feel and active listening. So various things like that. James Carson is a pianist, and I believe they’re full.
Repertoire is all musical. So that’s gonna be the type of music that will be performed. And most of it is, yeah for folks to lose themself in really appreciating it with a full attention By being a little bit forced to listen in a different way as opposed to being distracted on their cell phone or, liking a Facebook post or reading their book while they should be listening to the concert or things like that.
Indra Raj: Yeah, it’s a truly immersive experience that is hard to find in these very technology, social media consumed days that we live in.
That’s wonderful. Thank you so much for telling us more about The Blind Cafe Music and Dinner in the Dark Experience. Coming to the Dairy Performing Arts Center here in Boulder, September 19th through [00:05:00] 21st, once again, could you just tell our listeners where they can find out more information?
Richie Flores: You can definitely go to the blind cafe.com and check out we have sliding ticket discounted opportunities there. The blind cafe.com will give you all the information you need
Indra Raj: Thank you so much for joining me today on KGNU, Richie.
Richie Flores: Yeah. Appreciate you for having me.
