Dining in the Dark for 'Sight Into Sound'

HOUSTON - Have you ever considered dining in the dark? No, not dining by candlelight. There is a unique opportunity on Sunday, Jan. 22, to learn what it feels like to be blind and also help raise funds for the Houston-area organization Sight Into Sound.

FOX 26 News visited one of the tasting events at Hotel ZaZa for a thought-provoking way of what it feels like to live without sight.

The tasting event is one of the most significant fundraising events of the year for Sight into Sound. The organization hope everyone will consider participating in the event to help fund its 24-hour-a-day reading service for visually-handicapped people.

Sight Into Sound offers readings of books, newspapers, and magazines for adults and children.

The co-chairs of the event are Lindsey Love and Courtney Hopson. Love tells FOX 26 that during the four-course dinner, everyone will be blindfolded during the main course, to get a feel of what it would be like to lose their sight.

Mary Johnston, who was diagnosed with a rare condition when she was a young girl, has benefited from the organization most of her life. She is now serving as president of the board for Sight into Sound.

"I have Retinitis Pigmentosa, which is a deterioration of the retina. When I was small, I had vision and rode my bike to school and did things children do normally activity-wise, but my vision decreased. By the time I was in college, I was pretty much unable to get around on my own," says Johnston. She cannot wait for the Dining in the Dark event.

"First of all, I think it's the one of the most fun events in our city. There's no auction; it's just a fun dinner and we really try to emphasize to our guests what it feels like to be blind and try to present things in an audio format, rather than video format and give people a glimpse. A lot of people don't know any blind people, so they don't know that most people function pretty normally. It's a fun way to expose the community and our organization," explains Johnston.

Lindsey Love says she found the blindfolded eating a little more difficult than she imagined. Everyone agreed that all of their senses were more heightened without sight; everything from sound to taste and smell.

The biggest challenge during the tasting was getting the proper amount of food on a fork. Visitors either did not pick up anything on the fork or ended up with huge bites. It was also difficult to cut things and find the proper (sharp) side of the knife! Expert Johnston encouraged everyone to laugh at ourselves.

Johnston later taught that you have to use your fingers a lot more than anyone is typically accustomed to, a lesson for her family, as well.

"I will tell you last year at the event, my nine-year-old daughter said all those manners you taught me are out the window; I have all this meat in my hand and elbow on the table," she laughingly told FOX 26.

With or without our manners, everyone learned important life lessons while dining in the dark, lessons that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Anyone can experience that on Sunday, Jan. 22 at Hotel ZaZa. Again, it is a four-course meal and wines will be available.

On the Web:

Sight Into Sound -- http://www.tapingfortheblind.org/