Holiday Happy Hour Get the party started without the alcohol

  • By Dave Mast
  • November 20, 2010
  • 297
                        
Looking for a good party to attend during the holiday season? Look no further than downtown Millersburg on Dec. 2, and this time, feel free to bring the whole family. The alcohol-free Holiday Happy Hour will take place on Thursday, Dec. 2, from 5-7 p.m., at the Millersburg Christian Church Life Center located on N. Washington Street in Millersburg. The public is invited to join in a festive event that will kick off the holiday season without alcohol, which makes it a perfect place to take the whole family. And perhaps best of all, this party is absolutely free. While mixed drinks will be on tap as the night’s feature event, these divine drinks will have all been created with the absence of alcohol, as area groups and businesses compete to create the tastiest mocktail. Holiday Happy Hour is the combined effort of Holmes County Safe Communities, Your Human Resource Center and the Holmes County Prevention Coalition, and the night has been created to be a gala party atmosphere combined with a message. “What we really want to promote is that people do have the option to do something different, and that parties don’t necessarily have to have alcohol to be fun,” said Suzanne Snyder of Your Human Resource Center. “There are plenty of options that are non–alcoholic, and one of the goals of this evening is to show people that you can have a great time without having alcohol present. And even if people do drink, the other message that we want to spread is that it is vitally important that people should not, under any circumstances, get behind the wheel and drive if they have been drinking any alcohol.” For the ninth edition of the Holiday Happy Hour evening, which is run in conjunction with National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month in December, a total of five teams have already signed up to provide non-alcoholic beverages for the event. Commercial & Savings Bank, Every Woman’s House and a local church will all be present, while both East and West Holmes high schools have teams competing against each other in their respective schools, with the winner advancing to the Holiday Happy Hour showcase. “We’re always very excited to get youth involved with the process,” said Snyder. “It is such a great message for them to hear, and it’s even better when we can get them involved.” The evening will include hors d’oeuvres, including meat and cheese trays, vegetables and salties. But make no mistake, the prize attraction will be the various non-alcoholic drinks, which have ranged in the past from Java Jo’s Chocolate Candy Cane, CSB’s healthy strawberry and ice concoction, hot ciders, cool limeades and assorted other drinks, with ginger ale being the hardest ingredient lacing these entries. CSB even has their employees taste test their entries, usually creating several different kinds and then opting to go with the one that most people prefer. Last year’s event, which was held at the Victorian House, presented a beautiful and extravagantly decorated home, where patrons could see all kinds of Christmas decorations. But while beautiful, Snyder said it broke people up into different rooms, something they didn’t want to do this year. “We like the idea of keeping everyone together in one large room because it creates more of a party atmosphere when everyone is together,” said Snyder. Throughout the evening, door prizes will be awarded every 15 minutes. The festive atmosphere has definitely helped to build relationships between the supporting organizations over the years, as well as the people throughout the community who have attended. “This event really has built up a nice partnership between our organizations, and within the community,” said Snyder. “We see a lot of the same faces year after year. Hopefully we will get a chance to see some new ones this year.” The event is free to the public, and Snyder said there is still room for more team entries should a youth group, organization or business like to join in the fun. “The more, the merrier,” said Snyder. “This is all about promoting being responsible, and it’s wonderful for our youth to see everyone having a great time without alcohol. It sets a good example. But we do have an awful lot of fun when we are here, and that is important too.”


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