LightHouse Listenings presents Erik Weihenmayer with Davia Nelson of NPR's The Kitchen Sisters

LightHouse Listenings presents Erik Weihenmayer with Davia Nelson

In 2014, Erik Weihenmayer, the first and only blind person to ever reach the summit of Mount Everest, attempted a new and daunting challenge: to ride 277 miles of thunderous, wild rapids down the Colorado River in a solo kayak. Why would he take such a gamble? How exactly did he pull it off? Discover the answers to these questions, and more, when Erik joins us at LightHouse on May 2 for a far-reaching and candid conversation with Davia Nelson, of NPR’s award-winning production team The Kitchen Sisters.

The event is the latest installment in our ongoing series LightHouse Listenings and follows, most recently, a live production of the podcast The World According to Sound. A “listening party for ears only,” the LightHouse Listenings series is a celebration of the aural medium, and is designed to create a space for conversation, creativity, and sound that connects blind and sighted audiences over a shared experience. At each event, we provide sleep shades in order to give you the option to focus solely on what you’re hearing.

Event details

LightHouse for the Blind Headquarters

1155 Market St., 10th Floor, San Francisco

Cost: $10 in advance. $15 at the door (cash only). Tickets can be purchased through our Eventbrite page. Reception begins at 6pm; the event at 7pm. If you experience any difficulties with accessibility, contact Events Manager Dagny Brown at events@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7333.

This unique event is an opportunity to meet Erik during his national No Barriers tour and to hear the blind adventurer in conversation with one of the world’s finest radio journalists, Davia Nelson.

Davia’s work has taken her all over the world, from interviewing hummus chefs in Ramallah, to wine physicists in France and “kitchen botanists” in India. We can’t imagine anyone better suited to interview Erik about imagination, non-visual exploration and what drives him along his incredible journeys.

We’re proud to program and host this one-of-a-kind event, which will include braille passages from Erik’s book, read aloud, a meet-and-greet reception with attendees and an open bar. Books will be available onsite for purchase.

About LightHouse Listenings

This year, we began putting on regular listening parties for ears only – from live podcast recordings to pre-recorded material. To bring your sound experience to a live audience in San Francisco, contact dbrown@lighthouse-sf.org.

About Erik Weihenmayer

Over the past two decades, Erik Weihenmayer’s name has become synonymous with determination and ambition. In 2008, when he reached the top of Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, he completed his quest to climb all of the Seven Summits-the tallest peak on each of the seven continents.

Erik is the author of the best-selling memoir Touch the Top of the World, which was made into
a feature film, as well as The Adversity
Advantage, which shows readers how to turn
everyday struggles into everyday greatness. His
latest book, No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to
Kayak the Grand Canyon is more than an
adventure story, it illuminates how we overcome the barriers that get in our way. He is an internationally recognized speaker and brings his message of living a No Barriers Life to audiences around the world.

About Davia Nelson

Davia Nelson is one half of The Kitchen Sisters, producers of the du-Pont Columbia and James Beard Award-winning series Hidden Kitchens, as heard on NPR’s Morning Edition, and two Peabody Award-winning NPR series, Lost & Found Sound and The Sonic Memorial Project.

The Kitchen Sisters are also the producers of The Hidden World of Girls, heard on NPR and hosted by Tina Fey. Their first book Hidden Kitchens: Stories, Recipes & More From NPR’s Kitchen Sisters was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

One thought on “LightHouse Listenings presents Erik Weihenmayer with Davia Nelson”

  1. I wonder if this will be recorded, so that those of us who live 2000 miles away will have access to it?

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