Annual Dining in the Dark event planned for April 12
AN?EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE
Special to the OBSERVER
The Chautauqua Blind Association will present its ninth annual Dining in the Dark fundraising and awareness event on Friday, April 12, at the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in Celoron.
Dining in the Dark is a unique experience of eating without seeing. Starting at 6 p.m., guests are invited to socialize, have cocktails and bid on silent auction items.
Dinner seating will begin at 6:30 p.m. where each guest will be blindfolded and led into the dining room. Sighted guides trained by the Chautauqua Blind Association will be at every table to assist you through your meal.
All proceeds from the dinner will support the Youth Vision Screening Program. In 2018, Chautauqua Blind Association screened 3200 children under the age of 6 at preschools, pre-k, kindergartens, summer reading programs, and through the Home Schooling Association. Four hundred and fifty-two children were determined to be suffering from undiagnosed vision problems. In our 40 years of providing this free program, Chautauqua Blind Association has identified 70 cases of Amblyopia, a serious vision problem that can result in the loss of sight. Each child is referred to area eye care professionals for further evaluation and treatment.
This year the organization will be honoring Nate Arnone with the Louise Tefft Award for his support of Chautauqua Blind Association and Dining in the Dark. Nate offered to design a poster for our first Dining in the Dark event which took place April 10, 2010. Nine years later the event is going strong and Nate has been with us every year offering his talent and expertise in design and creativity.
Reservations are required and are still being accepted for the 2019 Dining in the Dark. Tickets for the event are $60 per person which include a gourmet meal, dessert, a blindfold and a chance to participate in a truly unique experience of dining without sight. Dinner reservations can be made online at our website at www.chautauquablind.org or by calling the office at 664-6660.
The organization also is still accepting donations for the silent auction. Donations can be dropped off up until the day of the event at the Chautauqua Blind Association, 510 W. Fifth St., Jamestown.
Those unable to attend Dining in the Dark but who want to support the mission of the Chautauqua Blind Association can make a tax-deductible donation online at Chautauquablind.org or by sending a check to the Chautauqua Blind Association, 510 W. Fifth St., Jamestown N.Y. Chautauqua Blind Association is a United Way partner.