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The Desserts in the Dark event at Minnesota State Academy for the Blind (MSAB) provided a hands-on experience for sighted participants to gain insight into the world of blindness. Guests wore blindfolds while enjoying a variety of desserts, decorating cookies, and engaging in a Braille decoding activity. Led by blind and visually impaired students, the event highlighted the students’ capabilities and independence. The fundraiser supports the International Studies Club’s upcoming trip to Sicily, reinforcing that blindness is not a barrier to travel, learning, or adventure. By engaging their other senses, participants left with a deeper appreciation for accessibility and inclusion.
Links:
Minnesota State Academy for the Blind
Seable – Holidays for Blind and Visually Impaired Groups and Tailored Holidays
To find out more about the services provided at State Services for the Blind, and what they can do for you, contact Shane DeSantis at shane.desantis@state.mn.us or call Shane at 651-385-5205.
Full Transcript:
(music)
(female voice singing) Learning blindness skills, I’m on this journey. No doubt. I won’t let the limits hold me back. I’ll figure it out.
Jeff Thompson:
Welcome to Blind Abilities. I’m Jeff Thompson. Today we’re going down to MSAB, that’s Minnesota State Academy for the Blind. And we’re going to be talking about Desserts in the Dark.
It’s a fundraiser put on by the International Studies Club. And with me is Crystal Underdahl. And Crystal, why don’t you introduce yourself?
Crystal Underdahl:
Hi, I’m Crystal Underdahl. I’m the Transition Coordinator at MSAB, but also a co-sponsor for the International Studies Club. There’s two co-sponsors.
Kristin Demmel:
I’m Kristin Demmel, here too, is the other co-sponsor, and I’m actually the Language Arts teacher here at MSAB and also work in the International Studies Club.
We also have a couple students here, three out of the five students that are traveling with us this year in the club.
Huber:
Hi, my name is Huber. I am a student from MSAB in 11th grade, and I am a member of the International Studies Club.
Maddie:
I’m Maddie. I’m also a junior and also traveling with the International Studies Club.
Riley:
Hello, my name is Riley, and I am also traveling with the International Studies Club. And I’m in the A-plus Transition Program, so I’m not a high school. I’m just in the Transition Program.
Jeff Thompson:
Awesome. I’ve never been to one of these in the darks type of things.
So why don’t you tell us a little bit about Desserts in the Dark?
Crystal Underdahl:
I’ll start by saying we partnered with Shattuck St. Mary. They donated facility and the space, and students combined sold 65 tickets. So we should have 65 guests that night, and it’s all student-led.
Riley: You know, you have to wear blindfolds, that’s like the in the dark part, you have blindfolds on.
Maddie:
We’re doing cookie decorating. That’s the second event after we do the dessert part of Desserts in the Dark, where we decorate cookies. So the people have to frost them, but they’re still blindfolded. Put frosting on them, also put fruits and chocolate chips, I believe, is the topper.
Huber:
The third activity is decoding Italian phrases in Braille.
Maddie:
They don’t have to be blindfolded for that.
Huber:
They don’t get the opportunity to be blindfolded for that, which is kind of sad because…
Jeff Thompson:
Uh huh. That sounds great. So the International Studies Club, this is an event to help support a trip that you’re going to Sicily for. That sounds really exciting.
Huber:
The activities we’ll be doing is we’ll be horseback riding through the Sicilian forest. We’ll be touring the coast by boat. We’ll also be tasting Sicilian cuisine. And we will be going to the world’s largest tactile museum.
Jeff Thompson:
Wow.
Huber:
And go hike Mount Edna is another activity we’ll be doing.
Jeff Thompson:
How are you set up to head to Sicily? What kind of arrangements – did you get an agent?
Crystal Underdahl:
Yeah, we have a tour guide that’s actually out of London that is called Seable. And they specialize in doing tours with blind and visually impaired individuals. Those are the only people that they give tours to. So all of their tours are actually set up to be very hands-on and very much essential kind of tour with using all the senses and not really visual at all. So it’s really set up ideally for our students.
Kristin Demmel:
Yeah, we provided… Well, the students provided what they wanted to be doing while they’re on the trip. They’ve really customized the itinerary to fit our needs and interests.
Jeff Thompson:
Well, that’s really neat. That’s really great. 65 people are going to be there for the event.
Wow. And where’s this being held at?
Crystal Underdahl:
Shattuck St. Mary.
Jeff Thompson:
Well, I’m going to be down there. I’m going to check it out and looking forward to the cookie decorating part. Desserts I don’t need as many as I used to want, but I’ll be there.
Riley:
You’re going to have a great time.
Huber: I think this is Brunst.
Riley: Yeah.
Kristin Demmel:
We’re doing a little tour of Italy. So it will provide a couple of different options for you. But yeah, all of our desserts and our activities were donated.
So all the profits or proceeds go right back to the students. We’re really excited about that.
Crystal Underdahl:
I feel like we didn’t say a lot about the immersion part of the desserts in the dark though.
So did you guys want to say any more about that? Why are we doing desserts in the dark? So it teaches people.
Huber:
It teaches people what the visually impaired people do.
Maddie:
It’s supposed to give the experience of being blind or semblance of the experience of being blind to people who haven’t experienced that before. Make them like relate to us.
Riley:
Yeah.
Jeff Thompson:
I think it’s very educational what you’re doing because some people say, oh, it doesn’t give you the full experience. But hey, you’re getting desserts and you get to experience it and it’s all led by students with low vision or blind.
So what more experience could someone receive?
Crystal Underdahl:
I think it’s good, too. It actually shows their capable of doing so much more that some people don’t really understand how capable our kids really are. And I think it’s really good to see that they’re just like everybody else.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s awesome.
On the way back, there’s a bunch of us coming back all together and we’re going to be on this dessert sugar high.
So I can imagine what it’s going to be like riding back with everyone for about an hour and a half. So thank you so much for coming on here and giving us a description of desserts in the dark by the MSAB International Studies Club. Thank you very much.
Riley:
All right.
Maddie:
Thank you.
Several:
Thank you.
(music)
(girl singing) I’m breaking through these barriers. No time to waste to find my independence.
Gotta make my case in a world that doubts me.
Jeff Thompson:
So on the day of the event, six of us loaded up and headed to Fairbault, Minnesota to get a taste of Sicily. And this event was totally put on by the students.
Hubert (over a PA):
Welcome to the desserts in the dark event. My name is Hubert. I am a student at the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind. I am currently in 11th grade. This is my first opportunity to travel with the MSAB International Studies Club. The International Studies Club is a great experience and I am looking forward to gaining more independence and having the chance to apply my skills from school into the world.
The five students involved in ISC are here tonight, along with the two co-sponsors, Crystal Underdahl and Kristin Demmel. We will be traveling to the island of Sicily, which is in island off the coast of Italy. We will get to embark on a once in a lifetime experience. Tasting Sicilian cuisine, touring the Sicilian coast by boat, as well as fishing. We will also be horseback riding through the beautiful Sicilian forest and visiting the world’s largest tactile museum.
The thing that I am looking forward to most is horseback riding. As you can see, the International Studies Club is going to have a fun adventure on the island of Sicily. Thank you for coming and supporting the International Studies Club tonight, as we are individually funded.
And 100% of the proceeds from this event will go directly to the travelers. We hope you enjoy the experience and the desserts you have coming to you tonight. We appreciate all of you being here.
(applause)
Maddie:
Allright, hi you guys. I’m scared of you guys. This is scary.
So my name is Maddie and I’m a junior at the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind. As you guys already know, we will be traveling to Sicily and I am really hoping to encounter a flamingo. So wish me luck on that.
Giggle. So before we begin, I would quickly like to thank Amy Cox and Matt Cavalier for giving us the space to host this event. I would also like to thank John Davis and Terry Wilding for giving us the opportunity to go on this trip. And all of you guys that are here, thank you so much for supporting us. So tonight we will be doing three events. We will be doing a culinary tour of Italy.
It’s experienced purely through your taste buds. So I mean, there’s that. We also will be decorating mini fruit pizzas and decoding Italian phrases in braille.
So best of luck. There are handmade clay rose centerpieces and also handmade wooden keychains on the center of each table. The roses were made by me and the keychains, which are a short cylindrical piece of wood that is hollow and has a cap at one end were made by Mike Sandberg, a retired teacher who is here tonight. So hi Sandberg.
Mike Sandberg:
Hi Maddie.
Maddie:
Hi. And here are some tips and tricks for navigating the evening blindfolded. Use all of your other senses to explore the food and decorations.
Before taking a bite, feel the shape and size of your food. It is okay to get a bit messy. There should be napkins and if they’re not, like, get over it.
(laughter)
Um, take small bite bites to avoid any unwanted surprises or lawsuits and to savor the flavors, of course. Listen carefully.
It’s new everything around you to help keep yourself warranted and make sure to communicate with those at your table if you need any assistance. Thank you all for coming and supporting us. It really does mean a lot to us. So can we dim the lights please and put our blindfolds on? May the odds forever be in your favor. Best of luck.
Jeff Thompson:
Servers came to our tables and served us with a variety of sweet desserts. A cannoli, a chocolate covered strawberry, garlic bread stick, caprese salad and tiramisu. Hmm, however, did not know it until we bit into it or touched it or smelled it.
We got some details from the students and then dug in.
Riley:
I would like to welcome you all to the Tour of Italy tasting portion of the night. In front of you is a rolled up napkin with some silverware in it. Some of what you’re about to eat is going to require a fork, some a spoon and the rest, your fingers. The volunteers will be handing out a plate with four or five desserts on them.
These will include chocolate, caramel, peanuts, butter, cheese, nuts and probably some other things. In front of you is a cup and the center of your table is a pitcher of water. It’s up to you to fill it up.
Giggle. Pro-Blank tip. When you’re pouring the water, put your finger in the cup and once the water reaches your finger, you should probably stop pouring the water or you’re going to spill everywhere and it will be really embarrassing.
Participants, since you guys are wearing blindfolds you’re gonna have to rely on your senses other than your sight to figure out what’s in front of you.
Pay attention to the size, shape, smell, and texture and also try and listen to it in case it speaks back to you.
(laughter)
With all that being said, good luck and enjoy your tour of Italy.
(applause)
Riley:
No peeking. That’s bad.
Jeff Thompson:
The conversations were helpful as everyone was experiencing the dessert delights to touch, taste, and smell. The second course of the desserts in the dark involves some creative ingenuity.
Fun and laughter was right up there with the calories that we were taking in.
Riley:
Now that you have received your items you will feel that you have a plate with one cookie on it, a square container filled with frosting and a round bowl with cut up fruit in it. You will need to locate a knife and the square frosting dish that is on the table. I hope you didn’t bring your favorite shirt as this may get a bit messy.
Audience Member #1:
I did.
Riley:
Next, put a medium amount of frosting Spread from the middle to the edge so completely covering
Jeff Thompson:
You could hear suggestions being shared around the table as everyone explored the delicious task at hand.
Audience Member #2:
This is such a cool idea.
Audience Member #3:
I love it
Audience Member #4:
What helps me is I turn my cookie while I’m spreading
Audience Member #5:
That’s what I was doing
Audience Member #4:
Just like to make sure I get all the way to the edge.
Riley:
Now that you are done with that you can locate the round bowl with fruit in it.
Audience Member #5:
Oh sugar.
Riley:
You should have a plastic spoon to scoop the fruit out of the bowl. If interested, there are chocolate chip sprinkles on the table. Talk to your tablemates to locate these.
Audience Member #5:
Okay tablemates, locate them.
Jeff Thompson:
Ah, there’s a glass.
Audience Member #5:
There you go. I put all my fruit in there.
Audience Member #4:
Let’s eat my fruit pizza.
(shaking box of sprinkles)
Audience Member #5:
Sounds like a rattlesnake
Jeff Thompson:
Yeah.
I would just dump the fruit right on it and smash it down.
Audience Member #3:
That’s what I said to the other two.
Audience Member #3:
In my kitchen, that’s how it would be going.
Jeff Thompson:
That’s a lot of fruit.
Audience Member #3:
Mmm hmm
Jeff Thompson:
This is like a pop tart on steroids.
Did you try it yet?
Audience Member #3:
This is like it’s already gone.
Audience Member #2:
Jeff, do you mind if I take your other dessert plate that you finished with from before?
Jeff Thompson:
Oh yeah.
Audience Member #2:
Thank you.
Jeff Thompson:
Thank you.
That doesn’t sound good, does it? Jeff, can I take your other dessert plate?
(laughter)
Jeff Thompson:
I mean, that’s the first time someone ever said that to me. Your other dessert plate.
Audience Member #2:
Your other dessert plate.
Audience Member #3:
Jeff, you have two dessert plates.
Audience Member #4:
Don’t get Jeff mad about that. Two dessert plates?
Jeff Thompson:
The third party event was a bit of braille.
Tyler:
I’m sure some of you are done already though. Harold.
Now, before we begin our next activity, I’d like to briefly explain braille. Oh yeah, I have to introduce myself first. Don’t forget everything I just said, because I have to introduce me.
I’m professional. I’m Tyler and I’m a student in the MSABA plus program and I’m a member of the International Studies Club. This is my second year traveling with the ISC. I was part of the trip to Ecuador in 2023. And I’m looking forward to experiencing another culture, another culture, and also trying the food. Food is good.
So braille is an entirely written language of raised dots in two columns of three dots each. And there are over 50 arrangements of dots to represent letters, numbers, and punctuation. And so for this activity, we’re going to make you decode braille.
(evil laughter)
Tyler:
Scary Giggle. Our volunteers will be walking around, passing out cards with various Italian words written on them in braille. And using your cheat sheets that I’m sure you have.
You have to figure out what’s written on the card, find the corresponding bookmark on your table, and then that bookmark is yours. It’s yours forever. Have fun. More Scary Giggle.
Jeff Thompson:
Then the students opened up for questions from the participants.
Audience member: How long is the flight?
Tyler:
All together, like, how do you get nothing 14 mixed up? We got a couple of layovers. Layovers in New York and Rome.
Jeff Thompson:
As someone who’s blind and visually impaired, do you have any anxiety about traveling to another country?
Huber:
Hello, my name is Huber. Yes, as a blind and visually impaired person, there is much anxiety, especially traveling through airports and boarding aircrafts. My fears are being left behind at checkout or check-in. I’ve had many of those, not being left behind, but I’ve had many of those fears.
I’ve also had fears of losing my luggage, wet traveling, or stopping at the wrong gate is one of my other fears.
Audience Member #7:
How many days will you be gone?
Huber:
Seven of them.
Audience Member #8:
So you’re going in March?
Huber:
We’re leaving on March 18th.
Audience Member #8:
So what will the climate be like there during that time?
Huber:
Sicilian.
Audience Member #8:
So garlicky. No.
Maddie:
This is the only date. In March, it’s relatively mild. It’s not like it’s super cold out. That was actually one of our things, is we wanted to go somewhere that wasn’t cold. We wanted to go somewhere that was at least warm. So it’s not going to be hot, but like we should be able to swim and get back into the ideal temperature. It’s supposed to be like 75 degrees.
Audience Member #8:
Nice.
Audience Member #9:
What food are you most excited to try?
Tyler:
The food I’d like to try would be more cannolis.
(audience murmurs in agreement)
Audience Member #10:
What activity are you looking forward to the most?
Tyler:
Me personally, the horseback riding, because during the trip to Ecuador, we also did horseback riding, and that was really cool.
Maddie:
I can’t see us when we go, but I’m going to see us when we go, you guys. It’s my dream.
Huber:
What I’m looking forward to is horseback riding and going to the World Tactile Museum.
(audience oohs)
Huber:
I hope to see ancient Sicilian history, if possible.
Audience Member #11:
Explain how you appreciate a boat ride.
Tyler:
You feel the wind in your face.
Maddie:
You can still feel like water spray, there’s sound, there’s like the wind in your hair, or I mean like on your skin in general.
Audience Member #11:
Will you be able to climb Mount Etna?
Tyler:
Yes, that is something that we’re going to do. We’re all very much looking forward to it.
Audience Member #11:
Looking forward to it?
Tyler:
Yes, very much so.
Jeff Thompson:
And before closing, the students gave thanks to everyone.
Tyler:
Now, I’d like to take a second to once again thank all the volunteers that helped out this evening.
Thanks, guys.
(applause)
Tyler:
I’d also like to thank all the restaurants that donated the samples, including Chianti, Depot, Hivee, Caribou, and Fairway.
(applause)
Tyler:
As a reminder, there are the clay roses and the wooden keychains that you can buy. The wooden keychains also have a little bit of ash in them from Mount Etna, so that’s pretty cool. You can buy them for the suggested price of $15. All proceeds, of course, go to us.
And with that being said, we hope you guys enjoyed the food and gained a bit more knowledge on what it’s like to be visually impaired. We’d once again like to thank you for spending your evening with us. Final giggle.
Jeff Thompson:
And of course, the ride back to the Twin Cities was filled with laugh and chatter as the desserts took effect.
We all agreed that this was going to be an annual event, as some of us have participated in the previous desserts in the dark events where the students went to Ecuador and France. And if you want to stay up to date with all the events going on at Minnesota State Academy for the Blind, check them out on the website at msab.msa.state.mn.us. Or on Facebook at Minnesota State Academy for the Blind.
You’ll also find these links in the show notes.
Jeff Thompson:
To find out more about all the programs at State Services for the Blind, contact Shane.DeSantis at state.mn .us. That’s Shane.DeSantis at state.mn.us.
Be sure to contact your State Services for the Blind, your Voc Rehab, and find out what they can do for you. Live, work, read, succeed.
[Music] [Transition noise] –
When we share-
What we see
-Through each other’s eyes…
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities