Here We Pour Again – Music & Mocktails is Back!

Almost a year ago, on Oct. 15, 2022, I was standing in the middle of Grand Forks Public with a drink in my hand, surrounded by community friends, listening to a live band play rock and folk jams we could all sing along to.

Yes. This was in a library. We were having a loud party – and not a drop of alcohol was involved. And we’re doing it again this October.

This was the first-ever Music & Mocktails at Grand Forks Public, a community event open to those 18 and older who were looking for an opportunity to connect outside of an alcohol-saturated environment. Eight restaurants and community organizations mixed up a signature mocktail to serve to nearly 80 guests, who voted for their favorite to be dubbed Master of the Mocktail. As drinks were poured by restaurants like Toasted Frog, Harry’s Steakhouse, and Ely’s Ivy, representatives from community groups like Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals and Greater Grand Forks Women’s Leadership Cooperative stepped up as one-night-only mixologists.

We knew this could become an annual party that brings all of the best pieces of our community together in one place. And we raised our glass to that idea.

Why a mocktail party, you ask? The easy answer could be that alcohol isn’t allowed in the library. But the real answer is that the Grand Forks Public Friends saw an opportunity to engage the community in so many ways:

We could show people how many Grand Forks businesses were already providing nonalcoholic drink choices.
We could give people ideas for how they could make their next gathering more inclusive to friends and family who don’t drink, are expecting a baby, or are simply trying to be healthier.
We could shed light on the alcohol recovery community in our region, with some inspiration from Recovery Reinvented’s director (and Grand Forks hero) Jonathan Holth.
And we could simply get more people to experience their local library and understand that the building is not “just for books” – it’s a playground for curious minds.

We thought this event would be a one-time deal. But the amount of positive feedback we received from our business community, service community, library community, and general Greater Grand Forks community was overwhelming. We knew this could become an annual party that brings all of the best pieces of our community together in one place. And we raised our glass to that idea.

So, on behalf of Grand Forks Public and the Grand Forks Public Friends, I would like to formally invite all of you to grab your tickets for the 2^nd Annual Music & Mocktails, taking place on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at your public library. Your $10 ticket gives you access to endless mocktail samples and the live acoustic stylings of Dan Christianson (and, oh man, he’s good). You can register today on our Eventbrite page.