Dinner in the Dark 2026: Creativity, Community and Giving Back

At PubliCreatives, we spend a lot of time helping businesses tell their stories, create memorable experiences, and connect with their communities. But some of the most meaningful work we get to be part of goes beyond marketing.

This year, we were proud to support Hope in Focus and Dinner in the Dark 2026, held on October 24 at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

Dinner in the Dark is not your typical fundraiser. Guests are invited to enjoy a gourmet dinner while wearing a blindfold, turning an evening of food, music, conversation, and giving into a completely different sensory experience. The event brings attention to the realities of vision loss while supporting Hope in Focus and its mission to advance research, education, resources, and support for individuals and families affected by Leber congenital amaurosis and other inherited retinal diseases.

An Experience That Makes You Think Differently

One of the things we loved most about Dinner in the Dark was how the event created an experience around the mission.

You are not simply sitting in a ballroom hearing about a cause.

You are participating.

For part of the evening, guests experienced dinner without relying on sight. That simple change turns something we do every day into something completely different and creates an opportunity to reflect on experiences many of us may never otherwise understand.

The evening also included live and silent auctions, music and dancing, along with interactive activities designed to help attendees better understand different aspects of living with low vision.

That combination of education, community, creativity, and experience is exactly what made the night so memorable.

Why Giving Back Matters to Us

PubliCreatives has grown because of the businesses, organizations, entrepreneurs, and people who have supported us throughout our community.

Because of that, giving back is something that means a lot to us.

We believe being part of a community means doing more than simply operating a business in it. It means showing up. It means supporting organizations doing important work. It means using the resources and skills we have to help bring more attention to causes that deserve it.

For us, photography, video, marketing, and storytelling can do more than promote a business. They can help preserve moments, spread awareness, introduce people to a mission, and encourage others to get involved.

Being able to support an event like Dinner in the Dark is a reminder of why we love what we do.

A Community Effort

Events like this do not happen because of one organization or one person. They happen because an entire community chooses to get involved.

We want to recognize the many businesses and organizations Hope in Focus thanked for supporting Dinner in the Dark 2026:

ABC PhotoLab, Andersen Oil Company, Atsena Therapeutics, Beer’d Brewing Co., Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, Charter Oak Federal Credit Union, Chelsea Groton Bank, Design Intervention, LLC, drinkcaffeine, Duncklee Cooling and Heating Inc., Eighty Six Media, Foundation Fighting Blindness, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Gales Ferry Medical Group, Groton Eye Center, Groton Utilities, Hartford HealthCare – Backus Hospital, Hoyt, Filippetti & Malaghan, LLC, Independence Physical Therapy, Innovate & Organize, Integrity Clinical Services, Lahan & King, Melissa Allen Pilates & Movement, MeiraGTx, Mohegan Tribe, Montville Florist, Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Financial Group LLC, Mystic Transportation Group, Opus Genetics, Phase One Consulting, PubliCreatives, Side by Side Pet, Simply Majestic, The Cartells, The Game Vault, Tito’s Vodka, Trident Revenue Management, and Water Street Design Associates.

Hope in Focus also recognized its 2026 20/20 Vision Patrons: Paul Bourguignon, Fancy Genes, LLC, the LaMattina Family, the Manfre Family, Adam and Sara Milne, Ruthmary and Ed Priebe, David and Karen Schulz, Ketti and Michael Terry, and Amir and Shabnam Yazdanyar.

Seeing so many local businesses, families, organizations, and supporters come together is a great example of what can happen when a community gets behind a meaningful mission.

Thank You, Jean Michael

We also want to give a special thank you to Jean Michael for helping us capture some of the photographs from the evening.

Having another set of creative eyes there helped us preserve more of the moments, people, conversations, and energy that made the event special.

Thank you for always being willing to jump in, help, and be part of what we are building.

More Than a Night Out

Dinner in the Dark was a beautiful event, but what stays with us most is the purpose behind it.

Hope in Focus continues working to raise awareness, fund research, and provide resources and support to people affected by rare inherited retinal diseases. Dinner in the Dark is its primary annual fundraiser and brings that mission together with an experience people are unlikely to forget.

We are grateful that PubliCreatives had the opportunity to be part of it.

To everyone who attended, donated, sponsored, volunteered, organized, performed, photographed, shared, or supported the event in any way: thank you.

Supporting our community will always be an important part of what PubliCreatives stands for.

Because sometimes the most meaningful thing we can create isn’t an ad, a website, or a campaign.

It’s awareness.

It’s connection.

And it’s an experience that helps people see the world a little differently.

— Christian Coronado, Marketing director of PubliCreatives.