Festivals / addiction
Sober festival for addicts shows ‘there is so much life on the other side’
An alcohol- and drug-free festival returned to The Trinity Centre on Thursday, providing a party atmosphere and space to connect for those with addiction issues.
Recovery Festival launched in 2013 and offers a day of totally free entertainment, with live bands, an open mic, mocktails and food.
“It’s a big part of what Recovery Festival is, basically showcasing that people can still have fun,” organiser Ken Wells said.
“It’s breaking down that stigma and providing a safe space for people to come together who are in a similar situation and have a bit of a dance and a boogie.”
A number of support organisations had stalls at the event
As well as massages, fitness classes, food and drink, all of it gifted by organisations and individuals, there were a number of help stalls.
These showcased charities like Big Issue and Shelter which support people through tough times.
Adam Brecknell and Steve Trower, who are living in monitored accommodation for people on bail or license from prison, found out about the event from a flyer there.
“It’s properly good to be honest,” said Brecknell, who is sober from alcohol and trying to get sober from drugs.
“There’s actually a lot going on here. I thought it weren’t going to be exciting like this.”
“It thought it was going to be a bit more churchy and that,” said Trower.
The party atmosphere, a world away from the soulless, clinical-feeling support spaces and underfunded services that addicts often encounter, is core to Recovery Festival.
“You might be in recovery but you don’t have to be part of that clinical world,” Wells said.
Mocktails were available on the house
Claire Flemming, who formerly worked in alcohol support services and used to chair the festival, recounted the first time she visited.
“I came along and where I was used to seeing people in all sorts of chaos, I was seeing people who were through that and out the other side – and how much life there was,” she said.
The festival started as an initiative by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership but over time has become a fully volunteer-led event, with everyone on the committee either having worked in or having lived experience of addiction.
“I’ll have been in recovery a year tomorrow,” Wells said. “It’s a lovely way to celebrate.
“It’s given me an opportunity to be able to be part of something very special where I can use my powers for good, putting on shows, putting on events, but doing it in a very wholesome way.
“It’s shown me what I can do being sober; how much better I can do my job.”
“It affords people the ability to do things, to volunteer, get involved,” Claire said. “Some people have been living in such chaos that they have never really had a job, and this is a first step to do that.”
All photos: Molly Pipe
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