OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Tuscawilla Park was alive with music, dance and games this Saturday, Sept. 9. But the festival wasn’t just a fun community event; it was a display of local recovery resources for people struggling with addiction and a memorial for people lost.
Every year, the Marion County Children’s Alliance puts on the Ocala Recovery Festival. This year’s was the sixth.
The goal? “Celebrate, remember, take action,” says the event flyer.
Dozens of displays from across the 352 area popped up in Tuscawilla Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to provide recovery resources in a welcoming environment. Peer support services for struggling people and grieving families passed out pamphlets to passersby.
Despite the subject at hand, though, the event wasn’t a somber one. There were children rolling down the grassy hill beside the neighboring Reilly Arts Center. When they played the Cupid Shuffle, everyone gathered in front of the outdoor stage to dance together.
Thanks to sponsors, everything at the event was available for free, including lunch. Helpers handed out free hamburgers and shaved ice, and entertainment from selfie stations to guided pony rides were scattered among the resource exhibits.
Everyone’s smiles really drove home the message of National Recovery Month this September: “Hope is real. Recovery is real.”
Robin Lanier, SMA Healthcare Vice President of Marion County Services, echoed this sentiment when she received the 2023 Recovery Champion Award. There were many other nominees, as well – far more than previous years, according to the event planners.
READ MORE ABOUT SMA HEALTHCARE: Reducing barriers to getting help to overcome drug addiction: Unique approach in Ocala puts all services in one place
Debra Velez, Chief Operating Officer for the Marion County Hospital District (MCHD), presented the award. While commending Lanier, she also emphasized the importance of community in overcoming addiction.
“Let us also remember the profound impact that each and every one of us can have on the world when we choose to walk a path of kindness, compassion and recovery,” said Velez.
And this year’s Ocala Recovery Festival certainly had a profound impact. Tanya Ousley, Outreach Specialist for the Marion County Children’s Alliance Community Council Against Substance Abuse, said the 2023 festival was a great success.
“It has absolutely paid off. It always pays off,” said Ousley. “It was a very busy two weeks leading up to this event, but we’ve had a really great turnout today. We’ve had a lot of support.”
Ousley went on to express the importance of the festival in our community.
“[We want] to show everyone that there is help out there,” added Ousley. “There are so many agencies willing to help. Not everybody recovers the same way, and there are different pathways to recovery. We like to invite everybody out because what works for one isn’t going to work for the other.”