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Tag: sober entertainment

  • Teen Throws Massive Sober House Party To Share Important Message

    Teen Throws Massive Sober House Party To Share Important Message

    More than 200 people showed up to “The F—ing Sober Party” thrown by the 17-year-old Wando High School student.

    One high schooler is rejecting the notion that teenagers like him need drugs and alcohol to have a good time.

    Dean Geraci, a 17-year-old student at Wando High School, invited hundreds of his peers from six high schools to his home in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, for a sober house party—or as he called it: TFSP (The Fucking Sober Party). His family did not expect such a high turnout. More than 200 people showed up, WCSC reported.

    The Power Of Social Media

    Geraci organized the event on social media. “We were talking about how a lot of teenagers are pressured into thinking they can only host a party if there’s alcohol, drugs,” he told WYFF. “I’m just trying to hope to inspire more people to think, hey, I don’t have to be pressured into having a certain substance at my party in order for kids to come to my house and have fun.”

    “I think it’s great,” said his mom Angela Geraci. “It’s a great way for him to communicate and get his message across and people can respond to him.”

    Footage of the sober house party can be found on Geraci’s Instagram stories. They show the family’s home buzzing with young people, inside and out. There’s great ambience. And good vibes all around.

    Words Of Encouragement

    Geraci is a young activist who, judging by his social media presence, is creative and enterprising. Through his original videos, he addresses mental health and substance abuse among his peers. Amid rising depression and anxiety in his age group, Dean lets them know there is another way. He even encourages his audience to reach out to him if they need to talk.

    “Money, grades, your weight, how many likes you get, how many friends you have… we do have to realize these are all just NUMBERS,” he says in one post. “Stay happy and don’t let those numbers get into your head.”

    “Not every single day is going to be easy,” he continues. “But how are you suppose to know what a ‘good day’ is, without going through some bad ones?”

    Teens in the Mount Pleasant area will be happy to know that Dean has been hinting at a second TFSP in August.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Sober Bars, Mocktails Becoming More Mainstream

    Sober Bars, Mocktails Becoming More Mainstream

    Sober bars give people in recovery a place to hang out without putting their sobriety at risk.

    “Mocktail” is a term that people who don’t drink alcohol may be familiar with. These non-alcoholic drinks are being served across the U.S., as abstinence and moderation gain popularity.

    Sober bars give people in recovery a place to hang out without putting their sobriety at risk.

    As Marketplace reports, there is a growing number of sober bars that have opened around the country, including Listen Bar in New York and Sans Bar in Texas. Listen Bar’s slogan is “All Bar No Booze,” and they serve herbal drinks like “She Pretty” and “Ghost me Maybe.”

    According to the bar’s official website, Listen Bar is “a booze-free bar in NYC rewriting nightlife beyond alcohol… [our] rowdy vibes have drawn a following among drinkers and non-drinkers alike.”

    Chris Marshall, the founder of Sans Bar in Austin, Texas, says, “We handcraft our own specialty ‘mocktails’—things like a rosemary and ginger mule, or a sans-garita, which incorporates lime, agave and apple cider vinegar.”

    Marshall’s plans for Sans Bar are ambitious. It has a second location in Kansas City, and has also hosted booze-free events in St. Louis, Portland and Alaska.

    With “sober curious” becoming a growing trend and non-drinking events like Dry January also gaining global popularity, Marshall feels there’s a lot of growth potential for the sober bar industry.

    “Dry January was this kind of small, inside-baseball thing five years ago,” Marshall explains. “[It’s] now a huge marketing opportunity for brands.”

    One of the big keys to sober bars is emphasizing that you can have a good time without getting drunk.

    On Sans Bar’s website, it states, “We are a growing group of average people who recognize that life can be fun without alcohol. We are sober, we are on the move, and we believe that real connection happens when people are sober… We believe positive change can happen in the smallest ways, and still yield a tremendous impact.”

    Another sober bar is The Other Side in Illinois. As the bar’s co-founder, Chris Reed, told The Fix, having a sober bar “helps people stay plugged in and close to others in recovery… It brings us together and it shows us recovery doesn’t suck, that you can still socialize.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Sober Concert-Goers Band Together In New Mini-Documentary

    Sober Concert-Goers Band Together In New Mini-Documentary

    Music lovers who’ve chosen the sober life are banding together at concerts.

    For some concert-goers, and some of the bands, the musical experience isn’t complete without drugs or alcohol to enhance their enjoyment. This makes it a problem for sober people going just for the music as many won’t understand and respect their choices, nor help discourage them from partaking in the debauchery.

    Enter the sober jam band community, whose main mission is to support those that decide not to drink or use drugs but don’t want to miss out on a great show.

    A new 10-minute student documentary focusing on the sober jam band community documents how they get things done, with a focus on the band Phish and its sober fan club, the Phellowship.

    The Phellowship has a special table at every Phish show, marked by yellow balloons, according to the mini-doc uploaded to Mary Gray Johnson’s YouTube channel.

    “The Phellowship is a group of Phish Heads who choose to remain drug and alcohol free,” the group’s page reads. “The Phellowship has absolutely no opinion on the issue of drugs and alcohol, and neither condemns or condones it. Our simple purpose is to provide ‘phellowship,’ support and information to those who seek the comfort and camaraderie of other clean and sober people at shows.”

    The only requirement to join the table is to remain alcohol and drug-free. While the group is intended for those in recovery, the mission includes anyone who is staying sober at the show. Besides the safe space, the table also offers meetings between sets and guidance from others who are on the same path.

    The Phellowship has provided relief for sober super-fans. One fan interviewed in the film was glad to know they did not have to miss out on the fun.

    “When I got sober a big fear of mine was ‘am I going to have fun again?’ This has definitely been a gateway to fun for me,” said Greer G.

    Others are just glad to have a great time with like-minded company.

    “To be able to still go to shows, know that there’s other people like that with you that you could just rage with, dance the whole show with, have the best time but stay sober [is incredible],” gushed another fan.

    Other bands also have their own sober fan groups. The Wharf Rats are fans of the Grateful Dead, and now Dead & Company. The Jellyfish love the band The String Cheese Incident.

    These groups are living proof that music fans don’t have to be wasted to have fun.

    View the original article at thefix.com