White Cane Day is an observance devoted to celebrating life with visual impairment or blindness. It’s also known as Blind Americans Equality Day.
This year, it occurs this coming Saturday (Oct. 14). It will be observed in the Chippewa Valley from noon to 3 p.m. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1120 Cedar St. in Eau Claire
The Eau Claire event is sponsored by the Center for Independent Living of Western Wisconsin, the Access Eau Claire Fund of the Eau Claire Community Foundation and Lions Club International. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.
There will be exhibits, games and hands-on experiences for those who attend. The day is intended to celebrate how life can be lived with visual impairment of blindness.
Information will be available about library services, guide dogs and travel apps, recreational opportunities, braille, and both low and high tech solutions for everyday tasks. The celebration will also offer opportunities to network with others who are living with visual impairment or blindness.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn such basic information as the legal requirement for drivers to stop at least 10 feet from a person with a white cane or a guide dog, when that person is crossing the street, according to a press release from the event’s sponsors.
Disability accommodations can be requested by contacting Edla Karr at 715-514-4200, extension 304 or 800-223-3287, or by sending an email to edla@cilww.com prior to the event.