{"id":143611,"date":"2025-07-08T21:07:45","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T01:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=143611"},"modified":"2025-07-08T21:18:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T01:18:29","slug":"musikfest-welcomes-soberplatz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=143611","title":{"rendered":"Musikfest Welcomes SoberPlatz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Musikfest Welcomes SoberPlatz<\/strong><\/p>\n

A new safe space at Musikfest celebrating music, community and mindful enjoyment.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA. July 8, 2025 – New for this year, ArtsQuest is proud to welcome SoberPlatz hosted by\u00a0Sync Recovery<\/strong>\u00a0to Musikfest. Thanks to spearheading efforts led by Northampton County Council President Lori Vargo Heffner who originally proposed a resolution to help defray the costs of set up and staffing the space \u2013 the Northampton County Council approved the resolution.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt ArtsQuest, we believe Musikfest should be a celebration where everyone feels they belong,\u201d said Curt Mosel, Chief Operating Officer at ArtsQuest. \u201cSoberPlatz adds an important dimension to the festival experience, creating a safe, inclusive space that supports connection, well-being and the joy of music in an alcohol-free environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

“I’m thrilled to see SoberPlatz becoming a reality at Musikfest,\u201d said Northampton County Council President Lori Vargo Heffner. \u201cThis truly opens up opportunities for individuals in the recovery community to enjoy the festival without hesitation, creating a welcoming, safe space where the focus stays where it belongs\u2014on the joy of live music and community.”<\/p>\n

This supportive environment is an alcohol-free zone open to anyone seeking a break from the crowds, looking to connect with others in recovery, or simply wanting to enjoy the festival in a substance-free setting. The space will feature meetups, wellness activities and opportunities to learn more about recovery resources and community support. Whether you\u2019re in recovery, sober-curious or an ally, all are welcome to stop by and be part of the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecovery isn\u2019t about missing out\u2014it\u2019s about showing up fully, and having a great time while you do it,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>said Laura Waits, Executive Director of Sync Recovery Community.\u00a0<\/em>\u201cThe SoberPlatz at Musikfest is a place to connect, recharge, and celebrate\u2014no alcohol needed. We\u2019re thrilled to partner with Musikfest to make sure everyone has a place to feel welcome, included and part of the fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSoberPlatz is another great way ArtsQuest is creating inclusive spaces,\u201d said Richard Liu, ArtsQuest Performing Arts Board member. \u201cHaving a supportive spot for persons in recovery from substance use disorders goes a long way in making Musikfest more accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n

SoberPlatz will be located on the SteelStacks Campus next to Air Products Americaplatz and open daily during the festival.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About ArtsQuest<\/strong><\/p>\n

ArtsQuest\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0mission is to provide access to exceptional artistic, cultural and educational experiences using arts and culture as key elements of economic development for our urban communities. ArtsQuest\u2122 supports this mission via the presentation of performing and visual arts, film, arts education classes and outreach, youth programming and cultural events. Through festivals such as its flagship event,\u00a0Musikfest<\/a>; the\u00a0ArtsQuest Creative Factory powered by PPL<\/a>; and the ArtsQuest Center at\u00a0SteelStacks<\/a>\u00a0arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest\u2019s programming reaches more than 1.9 million people annually. The organization\u2019s programs and events, of which nearly 40 percent are free to attend, have a combined economic impact of more than $136 million annually in the region.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nBryn Keeney<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Musikfest Welcomes SoberPlatz A new safe space at Musikfest celebrating music, community and mindful enjoyment. Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, PA. July 8, 2025 – New for this year, ArtsQuest is proud … Continue reading Musikfest Welcomes SoberPlatz<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143612,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5717,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bethlehem","category-in-the-valley"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/sober-platz.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=143611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/143612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=143611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=143611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=143611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}