ROVIGO – The first “Dinner in the dark” organized in Rovigo was a real success. A unique experience, proposed by Baseball Softball Club Rovigo in collaboration with the Hotel Cristallo of Rovigo, which last Saturday involved about 60 guests, with the sold out already a few days before. Friends of the rossoblù club, family members of the Rovigo baseball team for the blind and also some local authorities. Everyone was able to directly experience the sensations and problems that characterize the daily life of the blind.
Thanks to the invaluable help of the director and the staff of the Hotel Cristallo, the windows and light points of a room of the structure were completely darkened, thus creating total darkness. There, divided into five tables, the guests sat down. Accompanying them to their respective seats were the boys of the baseball team for the blind from the Itas Mutua Baseball Softball Club Rovigo, who played the role of waiters for the entire evening. Some of them had already taken part in similar events in other cities and their advice was invaluable for those who, on the other hand, tried their hand at serving a “dinner in the dark” for the first time.
“The moment we entered the room was already exciting – he confesses Loris Bucca, coordinator and technician of the rossoblù team – The guys were wonderful in putting us at ease and in providing us, from time to time, with indications on the movements with which we were served the various dishes. It is often said that one also eats with the eyes. And that’s right. In fact, it was surprising to bring to the mouth foods that we couldn’t see and that hadn’t been presented to us before. The whole evening made us think deeply. For us guests it was an experience of a couple of hours, but for our boys and for all blind people it is a constant condition to adapt to”.
After dessert, the light gradually returned thanks to some candles. The chef of the Hotel Cristallo displayed the dishes presented during the evening, revealing tastes that many had struggled to recognize in total darkness. Touching the moment in which some of the blind athletes of the Baseball Softball Club Rovigo recounted their sporting and life experiences, involving and snatching applause from all present.
Given the success of the evening, there will certainly be other “dinners in the blind” organized in the future. The commitment of the Baseball Softball Club Rovigo to bring as many disabled people as possible closer to sport is and will also leverage initiatives of this kind. The goal is to bring the blind of all ages to the diamond to experience baseball and fuel a movement which, thanks also to the collaboration started with Crazy San Bonifacio, is confirming Rovigo as a regional point of reference for the discipline.
“In the meantime, training continues between Rovigo and San Bonifacio – adds Loris Bucca – We are already preparing the big appointment on March 19 with the second edition of the ‘Lions Blind Date’, a demonstration event that we will organize on our diamond in via Vittorio Veneto in collaboration with Lions For Pets Rovigo. The Lampi of Milan, vice-champions of Italy in baseball for the blind, will be our guests, and the trainers of the Limbiate Center of Milan will not be missing, who, like last year, will offer a demonstration with guide dogs”.
