Hazelden Betty Ford and Dissonance present Resolution 2020: A Zero Proof New Year's Eve with HALEY, Lydia Liza & Moe Yaqub

CENTER CITY, Minn., Dec. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspired by the growing sober-curious cultural trend, The Parkway Theater in Minneapolis and two nonprofit partners will throw a unique New Year's Eve party for people who want to celebrate alcohol-free, featuring some of Minnesota's top artists and entertainers.

Resolution 2020: A Zero Proof New Year's Eve, presented by Parkway partners Dissonance and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, will be headlined by HALEY, whose blend of rock, American folk and New Wave has been popular with Minnesota and national audiences for years. For this special full-band performance, she will play songs from across her playlist.

New Year's Eve is a time for reflection, fresh starts and celebration. In America, it is also one of the top two heaviest drinking days of the year, along with St. Patrick's Day, which is why Resolution 2020 will stand out among New Year's Eve entertainment options.  

"This will be the most buzzed-about, booze-free holiday party of the season," said Jessica Paxton, booking and marketing specialist at The Parkway. "We are thrilled to host HALEY's first full-band Twin Cities performance in some time, and grateful for her support of this first-of-its-kind opportunity for people who want both festivity and lucidity on the last day of the year."

Award-winning funnyman Moe Yaqub will kick off the festivities with a laugh-filled opening set, followed by performances by acclaimed singer-songwriter Lydia Liza and then HALEY. 

The all-ages event reflects a larger "sober curious" trend, or movement as some call it, that is giving rise to more alcohol-free bars, brands and events around the world, from Dublin, Ireland, to New York City to Seattle and everywhere in between. 

"The reality is that the majority of Americans don't drink or drink very little, and those numbers are growing as more wellness-minded people—especially young people—choose or experiment with a sober lifestyle," said Jeremiah Gardner, director of communications and public affairs at Hazelden Betty Ford. The national leader in addiction treatment and recovery also hosts an alcohol-free music festival—hazelfest—every summer in Center City and helped throw a sober party for the Big Game, SoberBowl, in 2018 when the Big Game was in Minneapolis.

"It's important to provide options within our culture for the significant population of people who want to socialize and have fun without mood-altering substances," Gardner said. "The audience has always been there. It includes the recovery community and many others. Now, with sobriety getting kind of hip and cool, consumers are beginning to demand alternatives like this. It's also a symbolic and practical antidote to the related public health challenges we face around addiction, mental health and suicide."

Resolution 2020 will include all of the things a reveler would expect from a New Year's party: hats and favors, a photo booth, a midnight countdown, and a bar full of fun, fancy mocktails and other non-alcoholic beverages, noted Sarah Souder Johnson, a St. Paul therapist who is the co-founder and board chair of Dissonance, which works in and through the arts to curate community and conversation around creativity and wellness.

"Celebrating the new year alcohol-free is a way to counter a lot of harmful mythology in our culture," Johnson said. "We know, for example, that creativity and art don't require artists who are messed up. We also know that socializing doesn't require the lubricant or escape of alcohol; in fact, some of the deepest art and the truest connections are the result of being fully present physically and mentally.

"We want to chip away at the baked-in expectation that alcohol needs to accompany every social function and night out, and also create spaces where everyone is comfortable and welcome," Johnson continued. "2020 is not only a new year, but a new decade and a chance to really bring what's important into focus. Won't it be nice to wake up without a hangover? Let's ring in the new year with the real connection of one another and some incredible entertainment we can enjoy and actually remember on New Year's Day!"

Resolution 2020 sponsors include non-alcoholic beverage brands Jinx Tea, Hairless Dog, Switchel and Red Bull. Tickets are available at TheParkwayTheater.com.

About the Performers (photos available)
HALEY has spent the past 16 years writing, producing, and performing her own music. Her early work reflected a more stripped-down approach, moody folk music with a hint of country. Over the years, her sound has grown into its own unique blend of rock, American folk, and New Wave. Never one to stay in a particular style too long, Haley's work continues to move forward in whatever direction she pleases, whether it is instrumental, classically-tinged synth, or screaming from the stage as the front woman of the psychedelic punk rock group Gramma's Boyfriend. For this special New Year's Eve performance, Haley will perform songs from across her catalog with a full band. Learn more: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / YouTube / Patreon

A couple years after going viral for re-writing "Baby It's Cold Outside" in 2017, LYDIA LIZA got sober. And then she got writing. Not a lot of artists can wear the "teenage musical prodigy" hat and go on to find success as an adult, and not a lot of artists can write a smash novelty holiday song and go on to transcend the "viral sensation" label – but with her first solo effort, Of Unsound Mind, Liza echoes Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley and Laura Marling with ease. Add a sprinkle of nostalgic pop-punk, and she creates a tasteful, familiar and expansive soundscape that keeps the listener hooked. Liza has been featured frequently in a variety of print and broadcast media, including Vanity Fair, the New York Times, Pitchfork and the New York Post. She has been covered by Broadway stars, amateur YouTubers and many others in-between, and boasts more than 6 million plays on Spotify. Liza has shared the stage with the likes of The Goo-Goo Dolls, Jake Bugg and Kimya Dawson. Her debut record was a project on Kickstarter that raised $13,000. And though her viral re-write of a Christmas song caught the attention of an international audience, Liza's real, authentic songwriting is bound to do the same. Learn more: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify

MOHTASHAM "MOE" YAQUB is a young, up-and-coming comedian from Minneapolis. He was born and raised in Pakistan but moved to America to attend college in 2012. Growing up in Pakistan, Yaqub spent many childhood years acting on television. After moving to America, he wanted to make the transition back into TV, and that led him to stand-up comedy. Seven years ago, Yaqub didn't speak English. Today, he's the Funniest Person with a Day Job, having won the grand prize at Rick Bronson's House of Comedy's 10th annual contest. (Yaqub is an accountant by day and a comedy wunderkind by night). He was also a finalist in Acme Comedy's Funniest Person Contest and Sisyphus Brewing's Funniest Person in Minnesota Contest. Yaqub is one of the producers of Minnesota's annual 10,000 Laughs Comedy Festival and, as a Pakistani immigrant, would really appreciate it if people would stop telling him it's not that cold here. Learn more: Instagram / Facebook

About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. As the nation's leading nonprofit provider of comprehensive inpatient and outpatient treatment for adults and youth, the Foundation has 17 locations nationwide and collaborates with an expansive network throughout health care. With a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center, the Foundation today also encompasses a graduate school of addiction studies, a publishing division, an addiction research center, recovery advocacy and thought leadership, professional and medical education programs, school-based prevention resources and a specialized program for children who grow up in families with addiction. Learn more at www.HazeldenBettyFord.org and on Twitter @hazldnbettyford.

About Dissonance
Dissonance is a nonprofit arts, mental health, recovery support, and advocacy organization. Run by a volunteer board of directors and based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., Dissonance promotes wellbeing by facilitating conversation, community and connections among artists, industry professionals, educators, healthcare providers and fans. Dissonance produces events, provides resources, creates safe spaces for healthy community and mutual aid, shares insightful and inspiring stories of lived experiences, and works to shape education and business practices to support mental health, addiction recovery and compassion in the arts. Through its efforts to foster a healthier dialogue and environment in the arts community, Dissonance aims to support, sustain and celebrate creativity and, by extension, to advance public advocacy and smash social stigmas around these topics. Learn more at www.Dissonance.website and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About The Parkway Theater
Built in 1931 and reimagined and restored in 2018, The Parkway Theater is one of the Twin Cities' best-loved entertainment venues. Throughout its 88-year history, The Parkway Theater has brought generations together to experience everything from first-run features, to classic cinema, to live music and comedy. Following the first major restoration in 40 years, The Parkway now serves as a regional cultural hub, showcasing 35mm films and world-class live events. Learn more at www.TheParkwayTheater.com and on Facebook.

SOURCE Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Related Links

http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org

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