Sobriety Group's Message: No Need To Get Boozy At Grandoozy

By Britt Moreno

DENVER (CBS4) - Grandoozy kicks off Friday at the Overland Park Golf Course near Santa Fe and Evans. Headliners include Kendrick Lamar, Florence + the Machine and Stevie Wonder. There will be food and drinks. However, one Colorado man is trying to redefine this party scene and encourages people to get high on life and nothing else.

Duke Rumely with Sober AF Entertainment joined CBS4's Morning Anchor Britt Moreno on CBS4 This Morning to talk about this new culture he is trying to create. (If you're thinking about what AF stands for and you have an idea that includes a word we can't write here, then you are correct.)

Rumely wanted to garner more buzz with the name of his nonprofit and wanted to reach kids like his own.

"We are trying to create a secondary culture for this movement. And just calling it sober entertainment would not have the same punch. We want to have as much fun, but doing it sober," Rumely told Moreno.

Sober AF Entertainment has a designated area at Rockies games and at University of Colorado football games as well as big concerts like Grandoozy where people can enjoy the events in a sober space. He says it offers former addicts like himself a way to be in a fun supportive community in which sobriety is encouraged.

Rumely is 29 years sober. The number of people who don't live to share their stories impassions him.

"It's ridiculous kids are growing up in this (drug) environment," he said.

He says when there is a concert if "it's a party scene, kids are dying. 72,000 people overdosed and died last year."

He went on to say it seems there is a "Colorado culture that is pro-drug and it doesn't seem there is a second culture."

If you would like to find the Sober AF group at Grandoozy, Rumely says to look for that Sober Doozy Tent.

For more information, visit soberafe.com.

Britt Moreno anchors the CBS4 morning and noon newscasts and is the Wednesday's Child reporter. She loves hearing from viewers. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @brittmorenotv.