Dinner in the Dark ( at 105 Gibson, Markham) Walking in the Shoes of the Vision Impaired for an Evening

Cultural Cafe - powered by Visually Impaired People at 105 Gibson Centre

Recently, we attended an event called Dinner in the Dark at 105 Gibson Centre located in the Steeles and Warden area in the city of Markham, an immediate suburb of Toronto.

This is also where Cultural Cafe, a cafe run by VIP's ( visually impaired people)  is located.

Dinner guests registered at the reception Desk

My husband and I looked forward to this event as this was something quite unique and meaningful .

We arrived at the centre shortly after 6 pm by we were not allowed into the dining area where the event was going to be held.

Some guests were already there chatting and taking pictures.

Each registered guest was given a new blindfold

After signing in at the reception desk, each guest was given a blindfold to ensure he/ she would be in the dark.

After the guest put on the blindfold, each person was led by an usher with normal vision.

Each Dinner in the Dark guest was escorted  safely to the dining area

The usher guided each blindfolded guest to his/ her table. As a person with normal vision, we would never understood how a blind person feels.














This evening, we had the opportunity of being in their shoes.

Many people took part in this meaningful learning experience

It felt strange, insecure as I was led to my table.  I sat down, not knowing  where I was, who was sitting beside me or who were at my table.

I arrived at my table and joined my fellow blindfolded guests

I waited and listened to the conversations going on around me. Someone told me my husband was right beside me and we were reconnected.

Wearing blindfolds, we ate the three course dinner in complete darkness 

The guests started introducing themselves  to one another. I learned that the couple sitting beside me were parents of a child born blind. They were here trying to experience what their child experiences each day and gain a glimpse of his world.

Each one of us was served with a bowl of hot soup as the first course. Though, we could not see what we were eating, the soup was delicious! It was not difficult to take in the soup as I could hold the bowl with one hand and spooned it into my mouth with my other hand.

The second course was  the main course which I found a little challenging. I had no idea what I was served and did not know where to start to eat from the plate.  Eating slowly and gingerly, we enjoyed the dish served to us.   In between the dinner, Pastor Danny and his team who organized the dinner explained things to the diners.

Pastor Danny & one of the VIP's

There were nice conversations taking place at our table while we were enjoying our dinner. Time flew by and we finished our last course in no time.

Dinner guests share their experience of being temporarily being blind

One guest shared her experience

At the end of our dinner, we could take off our blindfolds and were back to our normal selves.

Pastor Danny asked the dinner guests to share how did we feel about the experience of being blind temporarily.

A few of us did and were touched by the experience that evening. There was quite a bit of sharing among the participants.

Pastor Danny thanking his wife's support at the dinner

The Dinner in the Dark event was a practical and insightful lesson for those of us with normal vision. We were fortunate to have this rare opportunity to get a tiny glimpse of what the visually impaired has to deal with on a daily basis.

This event came about as a result of a lot of planning and hard work by Pastor Danny and his wife

Pastor Danny acknowledged in front of the dinner guests and expressed his appreciation for his wife's tireless and unwavering support.

It was a deeply meaningful evening and we were glad that we were a part of it.

Thank you, Pastor Danny, for your leadership and advocacy effort in educating the rest of us to gain a better understanding of the VIP's world and the challenges they face everyday!


To encourage the VIP's ( Visually Impaired People) to participate in more public events and to raise fund for the Joy Beyond Vision organization, Pastor Danny and the VIPs'  will be taking part in the
Mississauga Marathon 2016  this coming Saturday, on April 30, 2016. They have been training for weeks for this event.

If you are in the Toronto GTA area, we would like to invite you to take part in the run/ walk marathon this coming weekend. If you are not in the Toronto/ Mississauga area, please go online to learn more about the Joy Beyond Vision Community charitable organization. I sincerely hope that you will show your support and make a donation to the event!

R.T.
105 Gibson Centre
Markham