Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
The Prairie Sky Recovery Centre in Leipzig is hosting an event to celebrate 10 years of helping people to recover from their drug and alcohol addictions.
The centre’s Recovery Days event takes place over two days on Aug. 24-25, but the important day for members of the general public is Aug. 25 when the celebration runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. People are encouraged to visit the centre at any time during the day on the Saturday.
Jacqueline Hoffman, the recovery centre’s CEO, said the centre has held events in the past such as the Leipzig Music Festival when the centre was known as Leipzig Serenity Retreat, but Recovery Days is a celebration of the centre’s history.
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“It’s open to the public and we’re trying to make this a really special occasion this year being that we’re marking our 10th anniversary,” she said, recognizing that there will be lots going on including tours of the centre. “It is going to be a family-friendly event.”
The centre has held Round Ups in the past and the events would feature speakers from organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon and Narcotics Anonymous. There will be speakers at the Recovery Days event.
Hoffman said the centre has rented a dunk tank and people will be able to dunk the staff on Aug. 25 during the portion of the event for the general public. People will be able to play volleyball and go on tours of the building. There will also be live music and a pie-eating competition on the Saturday.
Ardyth House was built in 1927 and it used to be a boarding school known as the Notre Dame Convent. The 90-year-old building was purchased by Hoffman’s mother Ardyth Wilson in 2008 to use as a recovery centre and it has gone through $1 million in renovations.
The CEO said people in the surrounding areas and people who attend events at the centre are often curious about what goes on, so the Recovery Days event is an opportunity for people to tour the centre and learn more about it.
“It has been such an important building to the community for so long, so it just gives people an opportunity to come and see it,” she said, noting she is excited about the event and it is a great opportunity for the centre to showcase its important work.
Hoffman said there will be a concession for people to get hamburgers and beverages throughout the day. The beverages, of course, will be non-alcoholic. There will also be a supper that includes smoked pork chops and baked potatoes.
There will be an aspect of the event called a countdown. Hoffman said the countdown helps to celebrate sobriety, so people at the event provide the number of years they have been sober and all of the years of sobriety are added up. She noted that the combined years of sobriety could total as high as 500 hours during the countdowns.
The life music will be provided by singer-songwriter Bruin Eberle and by a band called Savage. The Recovery Days event will run rain or shine and there is plenty of space in the centre if it needs to be moved indoors. Donations will be accepted in lieu of admission.
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