Fall Has Been A Crazy Time
Fall has been a crazy time. Earthquakes on the East Coast, hurricanes and blizzards in October has made dodging the weather bullet a challenge everywhere. Leslie was in the air with nowhere to land during the earthquake and on a train heading north from D.C. during the blizzard. But October 21-22 on Lido Beach, Sarasota was perfect.
Reach Out Recovery, with wonderful volunteers from many organizations and friends from Manatee Glens, First Step of Sarasota, Coastal Behavioral Healthcare, Sunshine From Darkness, Shamrockers USA. Inc, Ringling College, Rehab After Work and many others gathered to celebrate Recovery. Over 500 people enjoyed the music, food, and activities during the two day event.
Artists on the stage included Road Recovery with Simon Kirk and the Type 2 band who came from New York to rock out. They were joined by Twinkle, Willie Royal, Tim Wilkins, and the Damon Marks band, Time Will Tell. There was glorious food and a friends of recovery from North Port to Bradenton. It was a magical evening on the beach as the sun went down Friday and the music played at the first public event at the newly named Ted Sperling Park. In fact, it was the first ever event at South Lido Park. A spectacular site for a picnic, a concert and a sports event.
On Saturday morning runners and walkers gathered early for a 5K run (or a one mile walk) on Lido beach. Gorgeous morning, a wonderful cause to celebrate and many raffle tickets sold. The winner received one of five ESP guitars signed by all the artists, donated by the Guitar Center. The female winner of the 5K race received a stunning leather and black pearl bracelet donated by Barbara McSweeney, who also designed the ROR dog tags we give with every donation. The male winner, from Venice, received a goody bag. The beautiful T-shirts were designed by Forrest Moulton and made by New Balance.
It was all filmed for our movie, The Silent Majority. So if you didn't get there you can still see it soon. Our competition on Saturday were the Breast Cancer walk at Lakewood Ranch and several other major events that we didn't know about when we started planning in July. Friday afternoon is practice day for high school teams, which made it difficult for many kids and their parents to get there.
But those who didn't make it to Lido Beach to celebrate recovery in person can still get the T-shirt and dog tag. Help us lift the stigma from addiction and recovery, tell the positive story of recovery, and support prevention and recovery programs.
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