Drinkless Spring Fest Shows Growth of New Sober Sisters Events Org

Recovery from addiction looks different for everyone, but one thing most people can agree on is that it’s not easy to do alone. It takes a village, as the cliche goes, but it’s up to each individual person to seek that village out.

For some people, 12-step programs are an effective way to find one’s place in an existing and ever-growing community, but that doesn’t work for everyone. It didn’t work for Britney McCormick, and that’s why she founded Sober Sisters Events (SSE).

McCormick founded SSE in June 2023 as she struggled for a meaningful way to connect with people while maintaining her sobriety. The only other sober person she knew at the time was her sister.

“When I started it, I started it selfishly a little bit,” she said. “I was probably five months into my sobriety at that point. I was reading all the books and meditating and journaling and doing all the things. But I was like, ‘I need to get out there and I need to meet people, but I don’t know where to find other sober people.’”

McCormick never formed any major plan; she simply launched the meet-up group and hoped people would come out. Her village responded.

Over two years, she has developed the organization to offer a range of options for people looking to find a healthy outlet with like-minded individuals, hosting events like blacklight yoga to the far less strenuous coffee tasting.

A Supergirls Supper Club meets once a month for dinner, offering a chance to make meaningful friendships over time in a low-pressure environment.

“Something based in a little selfishness has turned into something like a really great outlet for me connecting with other people in the sober community, and it’s been really great for a lot of other people, too,” she said.

As much as she jokes that Sober Sisters Events was born out of selfishness, on a deeper level it was actually inspired by McCormick’s mom, whom she and her sister lost to addiction. She explained that many of the people she comes into contact with through SSE remind her of her mother, and helping them pays tribute to her memory.

While SSE has started small, McCormick and her team are currently preparing for their biggest event yet: the Drinkless Spring Fest, scheduled for May 18 at Hi-Wire Brewing in South End. Set to run from 1-4 p.m., Drinkless Spring Fest will feature custom nonalcoholic drinks, live music, comedy, vendors working in the sober and mental health space and more.

“Everyone that’s involved is a collection of all the things that have really helped me in the last two and a half years on this sobriety journey,” she said.

Acknowledging the problem is the first step to recovery

McCormick marked 28 months of sobriety on May 8. She had begun drinking at a young age, around 14 or 15, which was not surprising looking back at how prevalent alcohol was in her household.

“Every celebration, every occasion, or no occasion at all, alcohol was always involved and everyone was drinking,” she said. “So growing up, I just thought that that’s what you do. And then I also had exposure to alcohol early, and then I also had a lot of freedom with it.”

There was the drinking at home, then at all the college parties, and then at the bars she patronized into adulthood.

“I was definitely a binge drinker,” she said. “I would definitely drink until there were no drinks to drink. I was always the last man standing. I just didn’t have an off switch when it came to alcohol.”

Early on in motherhood, she felt it hard to regulate her impulses. She initially thought that she could balance being a mom by day and saving her drinks for the nighttime, but deep down she knew it was an unsustainable habit.

“Looking back, I’m like, ‘Okay, if there was an emergency in the middle of the night, I wouldn’t have been able to drive. I wouldn’t have been able to know what to do,’” she recalled. “So it just became like that was the normal thing. And then eventually, those thoughts of trying to control it when I knew I didn’t want to, it was so exhausting.”

McCormick said she began to feel “tortured” by guilt that stemmed from drinking. When her sister, Shannon, got sober, it inspired Britney to do the same.

“We were like rage partners,” she said. “We would just drink everybody under the table, and [Shannon] got sober. And I was like, ‘Wow, oh my gosh. If you can do it, I can do it.’ And I just saw so many positive changes and so many great things happen in her life and I was right there to witness it all right before me.”

McCormick experimented with the sober-curious movement at first, going a couple of months without drinking before sleeping back into her old ways. Once she finally decided to give it up for good, she never regretted it.

“I’ve just seen so many improvements in my life,” she said. “I’ve started [Sober Sisters Events], and I’ve met so many amazing people. The universe really works in crazy ways.

“It’s wild when you’re paying attention to what’s going on around you – how many beautiful moments I was missing before that I actually am present for now,” McCormick continued. “When you’re drinking, you’re numbing, so you’re missing a lot. You’re not really thinking with a clear mind all the time, but you don’t even know the difference.”

McCormick has tried 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous but felt “stuck” within the program, so she established SSE as a way to make sobriety more accessible.

“They’re hindering you and your growth,” she said. “They’re saying, ‘If you don’t come here and do this, you’re going to drink again,’ or whatever. They say, ‘We’re powerless to alcohol,’ which I just do not subscribe to at all. I’m not powerless. I’m very powerful. I walked away from alcohol and I’ve never looked back.

“Yes, we all have said and done regrettable things, but let’s not harp on that,” she continued. “Let’s move forward, be positive. My event and this festival, it’s focusing more on the positive side of sobriety and all the wonderful ways your life can take shape in more uplifting ways.”

SSE fills a void that has been left by the apparent closure of Counterculture Club, a local organization similar to SSE that focused on hosting events that uplifted and built community with sober or sober-curious people.

Counterculture Club hosted two nonalcoholic beverage festivals during Dry January in 2023 and 2024, but has since become inactive. As of the time of this writing, attempts to contact founder Molly Ruggere went unanswered. The club’s site links are broken and all of its social media appears inactive.

Read more: The Sober Curious Movement Continues to Grow in Charlotte (2024)

McCormick said her sister used to attend events and met several people through Counterculture, all of whom have now branched out to either participate in AA or go to SSE.

She said she planned the Drinkless Spring Fest for a warmer time of year because it can be difficult for folks in recovery, especially if they are newly sober.

“People associate nice days with alcohol,” she said. “You can’t really separate the two. The sunshine outside makes you want to go outside and have a glass of rosé. My thing is, since I’ve been sober, I’ve never had more fun. You can do all the things that you want to do, including sitting outside listening to live music, without alcohol or a drink in your hand. That’s what I want people to see.”

Drinkless Spring Fest will take place on Sunday, May 18, 1-4 p.m., at Hi-Wire Brewing, 340 W. Tremont Ave., Suite 140. Visit the Sober Sisters Events Facebook page for updates.