BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition's first annual May Day Mocktail Contest and Dance Party will offer what publicist Leah McGrath Goodman describes as “binge drinking without consequences.”
The event at 118 Elliot caps a month during which approximately 50 area residents swore off alcohol.
The substance-abuse-prevention nonprofit has teamed with five restaurants to create a contest that will permit dance party attendees to award a prize to the one who crafts the tastiest nonalcoholic beverage.
Goodman said that the participating restaurants - Duo, Echo, Whetstone Station, Twin Flames, and the Masala House, all in Brattleboro - are crafting drinks using a variety of fruits, flavor essences, and mixes, including blood orange, hibiscus, and tamarind.
Prizes will be awarded to those who participated in the challenge.
Noting that substance abuse is a “major issue in this community,” Goodman said that the idea was to create a “pleasant and happy” venue, a fun event where people could enjoy “normal adult activities” without becoming altered in the process.
“We wanted a way to make substance abuse not so grim,” she said.