Friday night, an unusual menu at the Washington Yacht & Country Club calls for three courses — and the main course arrives with a blindfold.

The dinner is part of a fundraising event by the Blind Center of North Carolina, a home away from home for the visually impaired, a place to socialize and, on some days, work. It’s not your average fundraising dinner, however. Patrons will spend the main course portion of their dinner attempting to eat while blindfolded.

“(It’s a way) to raise awareness of what it’s like to live with blindness,” said Blair Bergevin, the center’s executive director.

First, a champagne reception kicks off a silent auction, items for which have been donated by local businesses. Then participants will take their seats for poached pear salad — without the provided sleep masks, Bergevin said.

“They’re going to eat the first course without the blindfold, to acclimate to the table and where the utensil are,” Bergevin.

But when the main course of pork tenderloin with asparagus and potato crisps comes, they’ll be in the dark.

“I think they’re going to try to go ahead and cut things up so they won’t have to use a knife,” Bergevin laughed.

Few tickets to Dining in the Dark remain, which is exactly what Bergevin hoped for when she started thinking up “fun and different” ways to raise money for the center.

“They’ve been doing the same fundraisers for a long time — which have been great — but I wanted to step out of the box and do something creative,” Bergevin said.

In her research, she found that several organizations had hosted dinners in the dark, where waitstaff wears night-vision goggles and everyone else literally dines in the dark. But when Bergevin saw that a center in Nevada hosts a similar blindfolded dinner, she realized that would be a better fit.

The Blind Center is not supported by state funds; instead, it relies on contributions, fundraising and grants to support its services, Bergevin said. In the past year, the center, in joining forces with the Washington company Hampton Arts, has added another income stream to its coffers: the company provides beads used for crafting and plastic containers and Blind Center clients fill and seal them to be shipped across the nation. It’s a partnership that has worked out very well for the Blind Center and its clients, Bergevin said.

“It’s been a very wonderful thing — it gives them a sense of accomplishment. They feel like they’re giving back; they’re able to contribute to the Blind Center,” Bergevin said.

At last count, the Hampton Arts connection had brought in $18,000 for the center, according to Bergevin.

Tickets to the event are $40 per person and only 20 more remain, according to Bergevin. At 8 p.m. a live auction will be held, which includes such items as a week’s rental of a Kitty Hawk beach house, a pig cooked for up to 30 people by reigning state barbecue champion Arthur Williams and Russell Smith, spa packages, handmade hammocks and more.

For tickets or more information, call Blair Bergevin at 252-946-6208.