Guests enjoy booze-free karaoke and dance parties at the Mindful Drinking Fest. Photograph by Ben Drov.When longtime bartender Derek Brown organized his first drinking festival without alcohol in 2022, he wasn’t sure exactly what to expect or how many people the event would draw in. Brown had just published a cocktail book devoted to low- and non-alcoholic drink mixing and wanted to bolster the small businesses pioneering the spirit-free beverage industry. Now, over three years later, he and his partner, Maria Bastasch, are expecting a thousand attendees at the fourth annual Mindful Drinking Fest, as well as over 50 local and national alcohol-free drink purveyors. “It used to be that you’d walk into a bar or restaurant and ask for non-alcoholic options, and they’d be like, ‘You should get out.’ Now we have people coming to us all the time, being like, ‘We’re looking for a really great non-alcoholic spiced rum.’ Why not?,” says Brown, the former owner of Shaw’s famed Columbia Room who’s now a wellness coach and consultant focused on “mindful drinking.” The festival, taking place at Union Market from January 10-12, will feature product tastings, karaoke and dance parties, group reflection sessions, and panel discussions on topics like alternative beverages and dating without alcohol. Among this year’s Mindful Drinking Fest offerings is a star-studded lineup of guest speakers and performers, including rapper and Soberness Podcast host Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Top Chef talent Jen Carroll and Spike Mendelsohn, and Netflix alum Lauren “LP” Paylor O’Brien. Brown says the record-level of interest in the event—the largest of its kind in the country—is a reflection of the growing popularity of non-alcoholic beverages and “sober-curiosity” among mainstream diners and drinkers. “Sometimes people think that when you don’t drink alcohol, it’s not going to be fun, especially when you’re paying for an event,” he says. “The thing that we’re able to prove is that’s not true —that you can have an incredible time, meet other people, drink delicious drinks, party, and dance without alcohol.” Tickets, $75, are available here.The post DC Will Host Its Fourth Annual Alcohol-Free Drinking Festival first appeared on Washingtonian.