Pender Street Steppers will be performing at Traverse during Welcome Week, hosted by Cymatic Grounds.
Alongside the music and visual arts, there will be a harm reduction booth at the event as part of the Community Opioid Dialogue project done by the City of Revelstoke this fall.
READ MORE: Keep that ‘friendly small town’ feel in Revelstoke this Welcome Week
“One of the first things we agreed upon, was to prioritize the safety of our attendees,” said Murray Elliott, co-founder of Cymatic Grounds, in a news release. “We want people to feel welcome, included and to create a safe space for people to enjoy themselves, without forcing a constant message of abstinence. Almost every event out there that continues to grow or survive prioritizes this, but it can easily be forgotten until something happens. To us harm reduction is more than just a booth, but an idea that is shared by both our attendees, artists and organizers. We plan to add a harm reduction focus to all our events moving forward.”
The harm reduction booth will have Jo-Ann Scarcella public health nurse and Joe Reimer, harm reduction coordinator for the West Kootenays from the AIDS Network, Outreach and Support Society in Nelson.
Some of the information and resources will include guiding new-comers to local social and public health support services, handing out naloxone kids and doing training, giving tips and tricks on how to party safely and handing out pre-made resource packages to ensure safe substance abuse and safe sex.
Cymatic Grounds was formed in 2018 to create community focused events in Revelstoke. The group then formally registered as a non-profit in early 2019 with six board members.
“Our group formed around a shared vision,” said Alexander Rouleau, in a news release. “To create forward thinking events that combine a focus on live visual art with the underground styles of music.”
The Community Dialogues on Opioid Use is a series of events by the City of Revelstoke, who received funding earlier this fall through the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, through the University of Victoria.
READ MORE: Opioid use dialogue events coming to Revelstoke
The goal of the four events was to get the community together to break down walls and come to a new and deeper understanding of opioid and substance use in Revelstoke.
So far the dialogues have included an art installation at LUNA, Let’s Taco-bout it–a community meal and a panel mixer.
The event will be on Nov. 28 at Traverse from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Tickets are available on eventbrite.
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