Some of Canada’s biggest musical acts will take the stage in Langford this weekend for SoberFest, a drug- and alcohol-free festival raising money for addiction recovery. The family-friendly event returns to Starlight Stadium on Saturday for its fifth year. Since its humble beginnings, SoberFest has helped fund more than 120 treatment beds for people seeking recovery. For Demian Seale, that support is personal. In 2023, Seale was working as a support worker with the Addictions Medicine Team at Royal Jubilee Hospital. After previously battling addiction, he felt he had his struggles under control and stopped attending AA meetings. Then came the relapse. “One day I was at working in the hospital and the next day I was in the emergency room in the hospital asking for help from my colleagues who all knew me,” said Seale. He describes the experience as humbling and a rock bottom. That’s when the ReWired Recovery Foundation stepped in, paying for Seale to enter treatment and supporting him through second-stage recovery. “They paid the whole way for me and they even paid into second stage recovery there.” said Seale The foundation is behind SoberFest, which began in 2022 with a modest goal: raise enough money to help send one person to treatment. “We wanted to get a half-priced bed from a treatment centre and then use the money we raised to send someone to treatment,” said Mike Manhas, executive director of the ReWired Recovery Foundation. Instead, that first festival raised enough money to fund six treatment stays. Since then, SoberFest has grown into a summer fixture on the West Shore, with the proceeds helping people access treatment, counselling and second-stage recovery. “We have provided over 120 treatment beds, countless hours of counselling and some second-stage recovery as well,” said Manhas. This year’s lineup includes Fefe Dobson, Snak The Ripper, Tyler Shaw and Bif Naked. For Bif Naked, performing at an event centred on recovery is about more than putting on a show. “I’m honoured to be a part of it,” she said. Bif Naked has spoken openly about her own struggles and says recovery is a lifelong journey, one that begins with sobriety, but doesn’t end there. “For us to be able to come together as friends, families and allies, it’s really cool that this event is taking place and I’m just so excited to be a part of it,” said the recording artist. The foundation has also found an ally in Nanaimo recording artist Cameron Whitcomb. Manhas said a friend of Whitcomb’s had received treatment through ReWired, prompting the musician to reach out. Whitcomb has since committed to funding one treatment bed each year for as long as SoberFest continues. “What a great way to give back,” said Manhas. “That is the beauty of recovery.” Seale knows that philosophy firsthand. “One of the paradoxes of recovery is that we can’t keep what we have unless we give it away,” he said. SoberFest takes place Saturday at Starlight Stadium in Langford. Tickets for the family-friendly, dry event are still available through SoberFest Victoria.
