BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Laura Waits has been sober for 13 years, but she remembers how, at about the two-year mark, the shine of recovery started to rub off.
“It wasn't as exciting, and I was having a really hard time with boredom,” Waits, executive director of Sync Recovery, said.
“And so I think it's really important that we get people to discover what they like to do and what they can be passionate about.”
This year’s Musikfest will be more accommodating to those in recovery with the addition of SoberPlatz, an alcohol-free space on the SteelStacks campus on the city’s South Side next to the Americaplatz stage at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks.
"To have a safe space in a concert or festival setting to kind of claim if they want... It was an a-ha moment of, ‘We definitely want to try to find a way to make this happen.’”Curt Mosel, chief operating officer at ArtsQuest
Held by Sync Recovery and open daily during the 11-day festival, SoberPlatz will be a space for those in recovery, as well as the sober-curious, to find community and support, organizers said.
“It never really clicked with us that a sober space was something that makes sense — kind of a blind spot on our part,” ArtsQuest Chief Operating Officer Curt Mosel said.
“To have a safe space in a concert or festival setting to kind of claim if they want to go have a conversation with like-minded folks, if they need a break from the festival or certainly the pressures of it.
"Boy, it made all the sense in the world, and it was an aha moment of, ‘We definitely want to try to find a way to make this happen.’”
‘Support, strength, fellowship, hope’
The idea for an alcohol-free, recovery-focused area of the festival came from a local recovery group, Northampton County Council President Lori Vargo Heffner said.
Members told her that, during the festival, parking can be difficult for all residents, including those in recovery seeking a meeting, she said.
So Vargo Heffner, who has more than three decades of experience in counseling, specializing in mental health and addiction treatment, approached ArtsQuest with the idea to include a sober space in the festival.
“I mentioned that I had experience with recovery communities and being part of the Wharf Rats back in the Grateful Dead days — many, many moons ago, when Jerry [Garcia] was still with the Grateful Dead,” she said.
“And that was a place at Grateful Dead shows for folks that are in any kind of recovery to gather during sets, because the Dead had specific sets, and still be part of the scene, but not have to be part of the high.
"The high was from music, and not drugs or alcohol.”
Borrowing their name from a 1971 Grateful Dead song, the Wharf Rats aren’t affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or any other twelve-step group.
They offer “support, strength, fellowship and hope,” according to the organization’s website, and concert-goers could find them by keeping an eye out for yellow balloons.
“We're going to do some yellow lighting in the trees that are around the sober space, SoberPlatz, just to help kind of signify, ‘Hey, this is this is here,’ and we're trying to draw attention to it,” Mosel said.
‘It's happening’
With the idea coming together into a plan, the next obstacle was funding it. So Vargo Heffner approached county council with the idea.
In mid-December, Northampton County Council passed a resolution to use $10,000 from its contingency fund to help support the effort. It was passed unanimously.
“It just took off from there,” she said. “After a couple of tries to get some organizations, Sync Recovery emerged as the perfect partner to be able to do this, because they had already had experience in doing events for people in the recovery community.
“And it also opened it up, not just to say AA or just NA, but anybody in any recovery space — family members included.
"And so, excitedly, it's happening. I can't believe it, and I can't believe we didn't think of it sooner, but it's happening.”
‘Healthy lifestyle, not just recovery’
Sync Recovery started in 2017, but really “started taking off” in 2021, Waits said.
“Northampton County gave us a contract during COVID to hold our events, because we were doing a lot of things outside, and people were struggling with being isolated,” she said.
“So that was our big start. And then people seem to really dig it. So we've moved into our Northampton County, Bucks County, Carbon County, a little bit in Lehigh — and so we're growing.”
The organization focuses not only on avoiding relapse, but also on building a balanced recovery lifestyle through its Four Core Components: social, spiritual, service and health.
“We do a lot outside, because it's good for our mental health — we go hiking, biking, kayaking,” she said. “We've gotten into yoga and sound baths and art classes and meditation and all sorts of things.
“It's just an opportunity for people to come together who are like-minded and connect. That's what our focus is on, is getting people to live a healthy lifestyle, not just be in recovery.”
‘Life's not over when we get sober’
At SoberPlatz, Sync Recovery — with the many volunteers who have signed up to help — will offer recovery meetings, ecstatic dancing, a silent disco, yoga, Tai chi, drum circles and even a photo booth.
There also will be tables and chairs for resting and socializing, yard and board games and art activities.
Describing the space as “primo,” Waits said festivalgoers can hang out for the day, use it as a meeting place or just stop by to relax and get out of the crowds.
“It's going to be a safe space for people to come and find some respite,” Waits said.
“I think it's also important that people in recovery can connect and relate to people that aren't drinking and partying in that way.
"And I also think it's really important that we can show the general public that life's not over when we get sober, that we have fun things to do and fun ways to be without drugs and alcohol.”
‘Should this be at other events?’
Musikfest is synonymous with beer — it’s what many festivalgoers are using to refill the iconic, and reusable, Musikfest mugs.
And those beer sales, alongside ticketed concerts, food and other beverages, help keep the nation's largest non-gated, free music festival operating.
“Our goal is to support artists as part of our mission, and the infrastructure expenses have gone up significantly over the years, and especially since COVID,” Mosel said.
“So we have to be mindful of our sustainability, and that's part of why sponsorship, ticket sales, merchandise and food and beverage revenue is so important to the festival working.
"And that's why we encourage people to eat and drink at the festival.”
Asked about non-alcoholic options for festivalgoers looking for a refill, Mosel said soft drinks are available in bottles through the festival’s partnership with Coca Cola, which can be poured into a mug.
There also are nonalcoholic beer and mocktails available.
“We're also going to have Travelin’ Tom's Coffee Truck there nearSoberPlatz, and it's specifically being invited in because of them being there,” Mosel said.
“So even though we have Coca Cola products and everything nearby, a lot of folks that are in recovery drink coffee, and so we wanted to be able to offer that up.”
If SoberPlatz proves a successful addition to the festival, Mosel said there could be opportunities to expand it, such as adding another location to the city’s North Side next year, or even adding sober spaces to other events, such as the ¡Sabor! Latin Festival or ReggaeFest.
“We do want to get a sense for the success, because that will help us as we sit down and talk about what the future looks like,” Mosel said.
“Should this be at other events? Should it be a larger space at Musikfest, and how could that evolve?”
Asked what success would look like this first year, Waits said it’s about putting a face on recovery.
“We don't need to be anonymous, as much as those meetings help people,” she said. “The more we talk about it, the more people aren't scared to come out and talk about mental health and substance use.
“And so I think the goal for this year is just to really show that there are people out here having a good time without having to drink and drug.”
