High above Elysian Park, overlooking Dodger Stadium and downtown Los Angeles, a group has formed a makeshift dance floor on an asphalt plateau far from the park's dusty paths and grassy hills. Funky soul music flows from two floor-standing speakers while a DJ mixes on digital turntables between them. Everyone dances with abandon, jumping from side to side, spinning and stretching their arms above their heads to greet the afternoon sun. At one point, they lock elbows and dance, hopping in a united circle.
Flanking the dance floor are guests eating free cheese pizza from Pizzanista and drinking skinny cans of Roxie, a zero-proof mocktail. Others drink from reusable jugs they've brought from home, but unlike at a typical club or concert, no one's bottle is secretly stocked with alcohol. The air also remains remarkably clear of the cannabis smoke that regularly perfumes Los Angeles gatherings. Although many of the participants embody the brash confidence that alcohol can induce, everyone here remains completely sober.
Participants perform breathing exercises during the Natural High alcohol-free party at Elysian Park.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
This is Natural High, a renegade alcohol- and substance-free dance party popping up in outdoor spaces around the city. Hosted by Adam Weissthe speaker-swinging DJ, Natural High grew organically from a weekly meditation and gratitude group Weiss started during the pandemic, and belongs to a growing trend of substance-free events.
“In Los Angeles, a lot of people do things that involve getting high or getting really drunk and those things are good for some people, but that's not my personal choice,” said Alice Moon, an Echo Park resident who has been attending Weiss. ' wellness events for over a year. “It's nice to be in an environment where sobriety is welcome.”
Alcohol consumption increased during the pandemic, but after it fewer adults drink and many are more conscious when they do. TO Gallup Poll 2021 revealed that 60% of American adults drink alcohol, up from 65% in 2019. The same survey revealed that even among those who consume alcohol, excess is less common: surveyors recorded an average of 3.6 alcoholic drinks consumed per week , which represents the lowest consumption. recorded an average number of weekly drinks since 2001.
Leading the charge is Generation Z, who drink an average of 20% less than millennials, according to a Berenberg Research report, and are more likely to prioritize taste over enthusiasm. As Generation Z reaches the legal drinking age and enters nightlife spaces for the first time, event organizers and the non-alcoholic beverage industry are adapting to accommodate those habits. So far, the change has proven fruitful: in 2022, the nonalcoholic and low-alcohol beverage industry will surpass 11 billion dollars in market value.
A participant performs breathing exercises during the Natural High alcohol-free party at Elysian Park.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Organizer Adam Weiss plays the music at the Natural High alcohol-free party in Elysian Park.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
“Aside from bars, we don't have anywhere else to socialize. We had to create something,” said Courtney Miller, who with Brandon Darnell co-founded Superbloom Collective, which hosts substance-free, donation-based dance parties in Santa Monica, along with yoga and movement workshops.
Weiss believes recent changes in drinking habits reflect a deeper trend. “It's been a gradual thing,” she said. “People are more interested in self-care and mental health, and part of that is being intentional and mindful. Even going to parties, people go because they want to connect. “I think the permission to connect without being drunk is attractive to people.”
When Radha Agrawal founded the morning dance party sunriseThe goal was to change the image of sobriety by incorporating elements of nightlife culture, such as community and self-expression.
“A lot of these sober events can seem like a sober event, you know?” Agrawal said. “We really wanted to reinvent the word and the concept as something present, conscious and connected, here and now. But we still wanted it to taste, smell and feel like nightlife. So it's a dance party. It's colorful, people dress up. “It takes place in these wild, fun, beautiful spaces.”
Founded by Radha Agrawal in 2013, Daybreaker hosts alcohol-free morning dance parties in cities around the world. The global community celebrates its 10th anniversary with a 15-city tour.
(Tyler Sawyer)
The first Daybreaker was held in a basement coffee shop in New York's Union Square during the first snowfall in December 2013. The following year, parties popped up in San Francisco. The following year, the project was invited to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and across the pond to London. To date, Daybreaker has celebrated with more than 500,000 people of all ages in 33 cities on all seven continents. This year, the alcohol-free dance party celebrates its 10th anniversary with a “Together Tour,” which includes a stop in Los Angeles on October 7.
“A lot of nightlife is an escapist culture,” Agrawal said. “It's 'I want to get out of my stressful day, out of my stressful relationship.' “Daybreaker is this idea of coming back to yourself instead of running away from yourself.”
For those attending for the first time, education is paramount. Instead of using substances, Agrawal encourages participants to “dose” (a Daybreaker acronym that stands for dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins) of the hormones and neurotransmitters that are naturally released when we do things like waking up with the sun, dancing, and dancing. music we love and connect with a larger community.
Participants dance into the sunset during the Natural High alcohol-free party at Elysian Park.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
“It's like, how can I help every member of the community release their 'dose'?” Agrawal said. “And if I do, they'll come back and tell 10 of their friends. “That’s how we grew the movement around the world.”
Not all sober dance parties take such a scientific approach to sharing the benefits of socializing without alcohol, but Natural High, Superbloom Collective, and other alcohol-free pop-ups like ecstatic dance in Venice helps newcomers feel comfortable starting their events with centering activities like meditation, stretching, breathing, or somatic movement.
“When we really started to ask ourselves what the reason for going out was, it was like: I like to dance. I like to meet people authentically. I like to have deep conversations. “I like to have fun and let my guard down a little bit,” Darnell explained.
Over time, she discovered that doing breathing exercises or a fitness class could help her get in the mindset to do exactly that: feel good, listen to the music, and just let go.
