Prevention and Recovery Begins New Year With Bash
On Sunday, December 31, 2023, Comanche Nation Prevention and Recovery held its annual New Year’s Eve Bash at the Great Plains Expo Center in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Prevention and Recovery Outpatient Site Supervisor Adrianne Roughface said it’s a community event open to the public and provides a safe and sober environment for families to come together to celebrate the new year.
“This year is a glow party,” she said. “We have batons that light up. We have glow sticks, glow necklaces, headbands. There's black light up at the dance area. We have neon, like, confetti and just glow.”
Roughface said they outgrew the Great Plains Coliseum.
“So, last year, we had a Hawaiian theme, and we expected about 500,” she said. “We ended up with close to a thousand last year. So, we were very packed and, you know, with COVID, trying to create more space and to provide more, you know, space for everybody to be.”
Roughface said 1,400 people attended the bash this year.
“Last year, we expected about 500, 600. We ended up with close to 800 people at the Coliseum, and we were very much packed, shoulder to shoulder,” she said. “So, we chose a bigger environment. That way, we could be more spaced out with our vendors, provide more area for our families and a bigger dance floor.”
Roughface said her favorite part was being able to provide a safe environment.
“To do activities with the kids, the bounce houses, the face paint, and it's all free,” she said. “So, sometimes, you know, getting able to do that is a great thing, especially for, like, our youth and for our families.”
Roughface said there is a benefit to starting off the new year in a sober environment.
“There is a big stigma around New Year's Eve and having to go out and party and, you know, be under the influence and then it puts risks on drinking and driving home,” she said. “But, if you do it here, you start the New Year out sober, and it's changing the stigma and changing the theme with, you know, New Year.”
Roughface said she was happy to see everyone who attended the New Year’s Eve Bash.
