Summer/Sober Days Festival Celebrates Recovery

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - A partnership between Street Royalty Entertainment and The Freedom Institute brought the 3rd Annual Summer Days/Sober Days Music Festival to Grand Junction.

Previous partnerships include Freedom Fridays - occurring every 2 Fridays - sober karaoke nights, creative art classes, open mics, and many more.

According to Christopher Vigil, Freedom Institute Events & Social Media Coordinator, today’s event was one of their most successful.

“I’m filled with love, and everything coming from the sobriety and recovery community, he said. I feel like we are connected. I feel like all these vendors, artists, and agencies. All of those are represented, and we all brought it together.”

Vigil is on his journey of recovery, and today also marked his 40th month. This event was a way for him to celebrate his own life, as well as spread a message of creativity and connection.

“There are like 200 people that I was born and raised with, that I grew up with, and that came through these doors today. The fact that they can see us doing something better it gives me hope that we can show them ‘Hey we can heal, you can too’,” said Vigil.

Musicians from local communities as well as Colicchie attended to showcase their talent and strength, despite their past.

“Music is magic, if we are going to be telling a message and doing it magically, let’s do it in a way that we are looking up,” said Vigil.

Summer Days is one of many events The Freedom Institute and Street Royalty Entertainment organize yearly, all of which are meant to inspire and celebrate life, recovery, and community.

“There is a voice of reason, and that voice is inside yourself...Whatever you’re doing, it can be self-inflicted. Whether it’s depression or addiction you have to find it in you to pick yourself up and do that. Knowing that other like-minded people will help you along the way is everything.”