Celebrating Community and Impact — Dinner in the Dark 2025

This year marked our 10th Dinner in the Dark, held on November 1 at Foxwoods Resort Casino — a milestone we were thrilled to celebrate with new and familiar faces. Together, we dined, danced, and raised our paddles high in support of those living with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and other rare inherited retinal diseases.

Dinner in the Dark is one of our favorite events because it supports research while creating a meaningful shared experience. With blindfolds on during the mystery-dinner courses, guests get a small glimpse of what navigating the world with limited vision can feel like. Our hope is that this moment of reflection deepens empathy, sparks conversation, and brings our mission even closer to heart.

And what a night it was.

With 260 seats filled, energy soaring, and generosity overflowing, we raised over $190,000 to help advance life-changing treatments and support for our community. Each gift helps us continue building a global network of education, advocacy, and empowerment for individuals and families living with a rare retinal disease.

“Our sponsors tonight are developing treatments for LCA1, LCA4, and LCA5, with additional therapies underway for LCA13 (RDH12), LCA9, XLRS, and more. These emerging treatments are already restoring vision, and even more options are on the horizon.” said Laura Manfre, Co-founder and Board Chair of Hope in Focus. “For someone who is fortunate enough to be eligible for the one treatment currently available, we connect them with someone who has already received it, so they know what to expect,” 

“Tonight, you’ll briefly experience what it can feel like to navigate the world with limited vision,” said Courtney Coates, Executive Director of Hope in Focus. “Our hope is that this experience inspires you—just as the resilience and courage of the LCA community inspires us every day—to stand with us as we continue to educate, empower, and drive research forward.”

Courtney also thanked our generous sponsors (view 2025 sponsors here) and the hardworking Dinner in the Dark Committee, whose dedication and countless volunteer hours make this event possible.

Throughout the evening, laughter and connection filled the room. This year’s menu was revealed course by course (you can read more about it in our What’s for Dinner? blog). Sofia Priebe introduced Anthony Ferraro, who shared tips for dining while blindfolded, including the beloved reminder: “Food to face, not face to food.”

We were grateful to partner once again with Beer’d Brewing Co. and Angelini Wine, which hand-selected pairings that elevated each course.

Thank you to our generous live and silent auction donors. Every auction item helped move us closer to our fundraising goal. Some auction highlights included trips to Tuscany and New Hampshire’s White Mountains, a private glassblowing experience with Jeffrey P’an, and Boston Red Sox tickets.  

A special shoutout goes to the Zebra crew —Alex Engel, Luca Priebe, Matt Rezendes, and Zane Hill —for bringing our DIY photo booth to life. You can view and download your photos here.

Thank you to everyone who attended, sponsored, volunteered, donated, bid, shared, traveled, and celebrated with us. You make this event and our mission possible.

Here’s to ten years of Dinner in the Dark and to the brighter future we are building together!