The room is dark, tables are set, I can feel the plates under my fingers when I trace my hand, the smell of delicious food makes my mouth water, but the only way to know what I am eating is through tasting it because I am blindfolded. Dining in the Dark, scheduled for February 25th, 2012, presented by Lawton Patriot Lions Club and Cameron Campus Ministry, is a benefit event to help raise money for the Oklahoma Lions Eye Bank.

Dining in the Dark aims at bringing awareness to blindness, an honorable cause, one of which I am proud to support. To make the dining experience more authentic, one blind person will sit at each table narrating on ways to use all your other senses.

The main guest at the event will be Cara Lee, a young woman from Elgin, who will share her story. Lee lost her sight abruptly due to keratoconus, a disease of the cornea. Eventually, her sight was restored with the help of successful transplant operation. Currently, such procedures are only possible because of human donors and the Oklahoma Lions Eye Club Bank. Lee will be joined by Dr. John Belardo, the man who restored Lee’s sight. He donated his time and talents to make sure this young woman had the chance to see again. Lawton’s Mayor, the Honorable Fred Fitch and his wife Natalie, will give the opening speech at the event.

Dining in the Dark, first started as a dining experience out in Boston, and quickly spread across the nation. The event is so popular that it has been a regular segment on the Ellen Degeneres’ Show. The fundraiser is now an annual event in Oklahoma City, but will be the first of its kind here in Lawton.

I will be attending the event and making sure to take lots of pictures and notes to share with all of you on Monday!

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