Dining in the Dark

WOW! I was a guest at this event last night in Orlando to benefit Lighthouse of CFL and the Second Harvest Food Bank of CFL and may I say, what an awesome experience! It truly was an evening celebrating smell, taste, sound and texture in total darkness.
I had no idea what to expect from this event but am I glad I went in with an open mind. At first, you are intrigued because of the location, the offering, and the idea of doing something new. By the end, you are so appreciative and thankful your community is so awesome and it truly does shed some light on the disability of being visually impaired.
I grew up with a grandfather who was blind and what caused it was hereditary so my brother and I had to get tested as we were growing up. I remember everything my grandfather went through for his sight and during the event, I kept visualizing my childhood with him including the talking clock, the way he said hello by feeling our faces, etc. Never did I think this event would be so emotional, in a great way!
The evening started with some wine and beer along with some great entertainment from Asli Goncer, Orlando area Singer/​Songwriter. This took place in the grand center of Second Harvest, in their huge warehouse. It was impressive. The Orlando SWAT team was there to lead us to our blacked out room and be our servers for the evening. They were very gracious and helpful!
I can write my entire experience of the dining itself but it’s truly something to be experienced. If you ever have the chance to check out an event like this, do it! You will not be disappointed.
A huge thanks to the Darden Foundation Community Kitchen (check out the amazing program:
) chefs and some Disney chefs that came out for the evening to provide a sensory overload of delicious dishes.

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous benefit! This was so much more than just a dinner benefitting a great cause– The dinner itself helped highlight the plight of those without sight, and formed a perfect metaphor for society’s ‘blindness’ to hunger in our cities.
Lighthouse Central Florida and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida came together to put on the dinner, which was at the SH of CFL headquarters. We were first led into an enormous food storage facility for a cocktail hour with a musician singing softly and passed hors d’œuvre. The anticipation was building with everyone nervously chatting about how some people get anxious and claustrophobic in the dark. But as soon as the Orlando SWAT fellas entered the room and started posing for pictures and mingling all of the nerves left the room and were replaced by giddy ladies (myself included) and laughter.
Finally, it was time to line up in our table groups to conga-​line into the dark dining room. Alas, I was not lucky enough to be second in the conga-​line behind our SWAT gentleman…
The room was pitch black– like so black that I couldn’t tell the difference between having my eyes open and closed. Eventually, my eyes adjusted a bit and I could see a dim glow of something identifying where the center of our table was.
As the dishes came out I realized that utensils were futile. That’s right– the SWAT guys, with their night vision, got a great view of me shoveling mashed potatoes into my face with my fingers. And you know what? I was A-​OK with that! We were all in the same boat at our table and it led to some great conversations and some new friends! The woman next to me let me know that she is pretty shy and this gave her the confidence to talk to strangers and make friends.
In the end, the dinner really highlighted how different life would be without our sense of vision, and it did it in an amazing experiential way. I was a total mess without my vision and I really appreciated it when the lights were turned on at the end. Lighthouse has found a really powerful tool in their awareness arsenal.
I would highly recommend this event to others and am now very interested in seeing how I can help both of these fabulous orgs — so, mission accomplished!