This event has been postponed due to Hurricane Matthew.
Blind and visually impaired North Carolinians will get a chance to trade recipes and cooking tips with well-known, blind reality-TV chef Christine Ha at the Governor Morehead School, 329 Ashe Avenue, Raleigh, Wednesday, Oct. 12.
The N.C. Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, N.C. Division of Services for the Blind, Governor Morehead School, and Triangle Radio Reading Service are teaming up to present a video interview with Ha, who won Season 3 of Fox TV's "MasterChef" competition in 2012, and is now a cookbook author and advocate for the visually impaired.
The program, scheduled for 1 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 12 at the Weathers-Hill Dining Hall at Governor Morehead School, will combine Ha's video interview with cooking exhibitions and demonstrations by local visually impaired cooks.
Limited space is available for this event, and advance registration is required. Please visit http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/lbph/eventsprograms.html by Sept. 30 to register. The event will also be broadcast live online at https://www.ncdcr.gov/christine-ha.
"Christine Ha was the inspiration for this cooking-themed program," said State Librarian Cal Shepard. "I hope her story will inspire our blind and visually impaired citizens not only in the kitchen, but in reaching other goals as well."
Ha earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at the University of Houston in 2012. In 2013 she published "Recipes from My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food." She received the American Foundation for the Blind's 2014 Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award.
Ha's blog, The Blind Cook, describes her work as "feeling my way through food, tasting my way through life." She describes herself as a "supporter of the culinary and literary arts-food and words are my creative portals, the means through which I connect with others. Go ahead and leap-come feel and taste with me."
Following the video interview with Ha, a Governor Morehead School student, a Division of Services for the Blind client, and a library patron will demonstrate their own simple recipes that others can make at home. The food services staff at Governor Morehead School will prepare food samples of the recipes for the audience to try.
For more information about this program, contact the library staff at (888) 388-2460 or visit http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/lbph/eventsprograms.html.
The North Carolina Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NCLBPH) is a special public library that circulates books and magazines especially made for persons who cannot use regular printed material because of a visual or physical disability. The library has more than 60,000 book titles and 100 magazines available to patrons, and serves more than 12,000 people across North Carolina. They are renowned for their personalized customer service.
About the N.C. Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
The N.C. Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is part of the State Library of North Carolina under the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The library is also a part of the network of regional libraries operated by the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS).
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the state's natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to
experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the state's history, conserving the state's natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.
NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science museums, three aquariums and Jennette's Pier, 39 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.