Hands Across the Bridge and Oxfest Celebration set

Thousands expected to participate

Vancouver, WA – Thousands are expected to participate in the eighth annual Hands Across the Bridge and Oxfest Celebration set for Labor Day Monday, September 7, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. The event celebrates freedom from alcohol and other drug addiction and is part of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

The event will commence with participants joining hands across the Interstate Bridge connecting Oregon and Washington. People in recovery and those supporting others will take part. The Oxfest Celebration will follow the bridge event from noon until 7 p.m. at Esther Short Park, 8th and Columbia, Vancouver. Live music, recovery resources, food vendors and more will be featured.

Elected officials from both Oregon (Representative Chip Shields and Multnomah County Chair, Ted Wheeler) and Washington (Senator Craig Pridemore, Clark County Commission Chair, Marc Boldt and City of Vancouver Mayor, Royce Pollard) will join the celebration to show their support of the work done by the recovery community.

Joining this year’s celebration will be Ivette A. Torres, MEd, MS, Associate Director for Consumer Affairs for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The Hands Across the Bridge project is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to creating a vehicle for people in recovery to speak out and challenge the stigma on substance abuse related issues.

“On Labor Day we will all stand together to show that the bridge to recovery is the bridge to our transformed lives at home, at work, and in our neighborhoods,” said co-organizer, Patty Katz.

“Recovery and treatment programs create healthier families and a more productive workforce, while lowering health care costs and reducing crime rates. Recovery is real and communities heal,” she said.

More information may be found by visiting www.Oxfest.net or www.Handsacrossthebridge.org.



Who: Hands Across the Bridge Project

What: Community event to Celebrate National Recovery Month

When: September 7, 2009 10:00 – Noon

Where: OREGON - Red Lion Inn, 909 N. Hayden Drive, Portland;

WASHINGTON - Esther Short Park (8th and Columbia) Vancouver, WA