Transportation is a big issue for visually impaired people, and the Blind Pig Tavern is hosting an event to help raise awareness.

Lillian Haas is practicing the harp for her performance tonight in the Athens Area Council of the Blind Benefit. Lillian has been playing the harp since she was fourteen and decided to lend her hand to the benefit tonight.

“I work for a blind woman as her assistant and she knows that I play the harp and she asked me if I wanted to help her out with the benefit and I said ‘of course!” Lillian said.

That blind woman is Jamacia Miller who is also the event coordinator and performing with the Athens Womens Singing Circle in the show. “It’s a really wonderful- we’ve put together a nice group of songs,” Jamaica said.

This is the sixth year the event has been held and this year the Bling Pig Tavern is the host. Jamaica personally picked the Blind Pig Tavern so she could have one of her favorite restautants involved.

“This benefit is important so that the people can earn money to do the special work that we do,” Jamaica Said

This room at the Blind Pig Tavern is going to be transformed to hold musical performances, childrens activities and host an auction with items such as La Parilla gift card, Flowers, and designer Sunglasses.

Tavern manager Clint Swords says Jamaica and her family are frequent customers.

“Hopefully we can satisfy their needs. I know in the past they’ve had it in places that are just bars and they wanted an option to have food so thats why they came here”

People wonder if there is a connection between the blind pig tavern hosting the council of the blind benefit, but Clint says it’s purely coinicdental.

One of the biggest issues for visually impaired people is transportation. They are hoping to raise awareness on this issue, and Jamaica encourages people to assist.

“People from other counties want to come but they can’t because the transportation is not there to get them here for the meetings,” Jamaica says. She also wrote the finale for the Athens Women’s Singing Circle that she is very proud of.

The event is tonight from five until ten and the cover charge is a donation to the council.

For Grady Newsource, Cody Godwin