The first “Lights Out” Bowl-A-Thon, sponsored by the Southwest Florida Council of the Blind will be held at North Fort Myers All Star Lanes on Saturday, Feb. 25, from noon to 4 p.m.

It is a chance for the sighted and visually impaired and blind to experience bowling blind, said organizers.

Blindfolds will be available for the sighted to experience how bowling is to those who cannot see.

There will be numerous raffle prizes, including a DiamondHead Beach Resort and Coconut Point Hyatt getaways, golf at Coral Oaks, bowling, Winn Dixie, Sweetbay and dinner gift certificates. The cost is $20 for a single entry and $40 for a family of four, and includes bowling and shoes.

“To me this event has a two-fold purpose,” said SWFCB Public Relations Chairman Paul Lewis. “The first, and to me the priority, is to make the community at large aware of the blind and visually impaired community that resides in Lee County and what they need to do to deal with their disability. And secondly is to raise funds to support the programs of the SWFCB. What makes our organization unique is not only do our programs support the blind and visually impaired, it is also run by the visually impaired.

The idea came from Terri Crosier, fund raising chairman for our organization. She’s actually been working on this over a year,” he said.

“I’ve had bowl-a-thons before for another disability organization,” Crosier said. “I worked with it and people had fun doing it, and will have lots of fun this time, too. The event is open to the public with donation, including three games and shoes.

“They have some great prizes for the raffle that day. And we will have a lot more coming.

“Besides the getaways at DiamondHead Beach Resort and Coconut Point Hyatt, golf at Coral Oaks, free bowling, Winn Dixie and Sweetbay gift certificates, we have gift certificates for all kinds of restaurants, and lots of other prizes. It is a fund raiser for the visually impaired and sighted alike.”

SWFCB is the local chapter of the Florida Council of the Blind, serving Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties.

For information on the organization, call president Mike Ulrich at 540-5845 or 656-5845.

Potential bowlers can pre-register for the event but it is not mandatory. Participants will also be accepted at the door, and have already registered from North Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres.

For information, call 995-2138. All Star Lanes is at 2818 N. Tamiami Trail in North Fort Myers.