Sober Spokane nightlife events emerge as alternative to booze-centric outings
Bailey Bowerman, left, and Christine Burns stand in 22 Rooms, a marketing and co-working space at 1011 W. First Ave., where the two, calling themselves Diversion Events, will host nonalcoholic social events. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Coeur d’Alene magazine writer Bailey Bowerman stopped drinking alcohol two years ago when her doctor advised it to improve hormone and gut health.
Cutting out booze did improve her health, but unexpectedly, Bowerman said she noticed her anxiety also declined significantly.
She’s stayed sober despite a few social pitfalls.
Bowerman, 35, said gatherings with other adults at times felt awkward when others drank, and some people stopped inviting her.
“My anxiety decreased a hundredfold when I stopped consuming alcohol. At a lot of events, I would go, and the main activity would be drinking, and so even though I would be in attendance, I kind of felt a little bit left out or it made people feel uncomfortable that I wasn’t drinking,” Bowerman said.
More recently, she and friend Christine Burns, 28, started talking about a national trend of “sober curious” events or sober clubs, geared to adults who want the nightlife vibe, sans alcohol. Inspired, the two women recently launched Diversion Events, a business that will host nonalcoholic social events where people can mingle.
Diversion’s first gathering is scheduled for 8-11 p.m. Friday at 22 Rooms, 1011 W. First Ave. It’s $25 for online tickets and $30 at the door for one nonalcoholic drink, food, DJ music, dancing and photo booth.
“Alcohol is such a huge part of our culture,” Bowerman said. “I had to stop drinking for health reasons, and I realized how much it changed my life.
More people are seeking sober social settings to have fun and make friends, she said. They’re often people who regularly exercise and say they feel better when they don’t drink alcohol.
“I’m just really excited that the sober curious movement has started,” she said.
Bowerman and Burns plan to hold a second mocktail-focused event Jan. 26, at the same time and location, to kick off with the theme of Dry January, a term used by people who decide to start the month with no alcohol or with periods of sobriety to offset holiday celebrations. After January, Diversion’s events likely will run once a month.
“After the first of the year, a lot of my friends will take the month of January and they’ll decide not to drink, especially after the holidays and New Year’s Eve,” Bowerman added. “It goes like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and you’re just at constant parties drinking and eating things that maybe you wouldn’t normally have.
“A lot of people use January as a month to sort of refocus.”
The two women said they plan to run the sober events as an alternative night of revelry, “with none of the regrets.”
“We’re just here to offer a diversion to the typical night out,” Burns said.
Burns, who still drinks alcohol on occasion, said she watched as a friend abstained and then realized how often people might feel pressured to grab a beer or cocktail.
“Everyone loves going out to grab a drink in the sense that you feel a lot more sleek, more sophisticated, having a beautiful cocktail in front of you,” she said. “However, for people who choose to go low-alcohol or no-alcohol for health reasons, or the many other reasons people choose to stay sober, you don’t really get that same atmosphere.”
She sees a demand among people who want the party feel but without alcohol as a central component to a night out.
“There’s so many more people who do this for health reasons,” Burns said.
“There are people who do it just because they don’t like the way alcohol makes them feel, or people who choose not to be around alcohol because of past trauma-related reasons.”
The business is partnering with First Avenue Coffee, which is creating the mocktails. Food will be served, and people have an option to get tattoos by Honey B Studios.
Guests do not have to identify as sober to attend, Burns said, but no alcohol will be served or consumed at the events, and guests are asked to arrive sober.
In the Spokane area, more bars and venues are offering creative mocktails, Bowerman said. She and Burns both write for Trending Northwest magazine, which Bowerman said recently listed top mocktail finds in the region.
“There’s a wealth of people offering mocktails, but we didn’t know of anyone that was offering the kind of event that we’re doing.”
She’s also hearing more interest in periods of sobriety and questioning alcohol’s impact on health among the Generation Z crowd, those Americans born during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“There’s just a new generation coming that’s just questioning, why do I need this to have fun? Why am I drinking this?” she said.
“It has a lot to do with our growing awareness of mental health, anxiety and people realizing there is a relationship between drinking alcohol and then having anxiety.”
Drinking often masks authentic experiences, she added.
“For me, I didn’t realize until I stopped drinking that I was really dependent on alcohol to give me that liquid courage or to feel bubbly and exciting, to have fun and feel confident in social situations,” Bowerman said. “And when I didn’t have that, I was forced to develop those coping skills and to develop authentic confidence, authentic relationships and authentic connections. All those things I think contribute to just feeling more at peace and to having less anxiety.”
Diversion Events has its Friday gathering information on Eventbrite. It also has an Instagram account, and the co-founders plan to develop a website.