Synergy Session morning raves offer a drug-free way to move and connect

Hillary Mastrodicasa and Richard Glickman's early-morning event encourages human connection, real food, and uninhibited movement

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      Ask the average person what to expect at a rave and they’ll have one word for you: drugs. 

      While chemically induced euphoria is certainly part of rave culture, Synergy Session founders and ex-ravers Hillary Mastrodicasa and Richard Glickman are seeking to replicate the dance party experience—think movement, art, music, and human connection—but instead of drugs and alcohol, they’ll provide attendees with locally-sourced, organic food and fresh-pressed juice. (It doesn’t get more Vancouver than this, folks.)

      Hosted at Stretch Yoga (180 E Pender Street), they’ve scheduled their event at a rather interesting time of day, although it won’t be unfamiliar to those who have found themselves stumbling to McDonald’s at 6 a.m. after a wild night of raving. Doors for the event open at 6:15 a.m. and the session concludes at 10 a.m.

      “It’s that extremist nature in both of us that used to love to party until 6 a.m., so we thought, let’s switch that, and instead of staying up all night, let’s get up really early,” Mastrodicasa explains. “That way, you start your day off right, fall asleep early on Sunday, and reset your whole week.”

      So what happens at a Synergy Sesssion?

      While scheduled group activities don’t start until 7:15 a.m., guests will have the first hour to play around with body paints, listen to the sounds of resident Synergy Session DJ Van Andreas, sip tea, and get a massage from an RMT.

      After that, a 15-minute meditation will be the precursor to 90 minutes of guided movement, led by Mastrodicasa, who’s an experienced yoga instructor.

      “It’s an hour and a half of guided movement, partner work, and a bit of what looks like yoga,” she says, “but I’d hesitate to call it that. I use that term because it’s familiar to people, but it will be fused with a lot of different movement.”

      The last hour will consist of “free play”:  dancing, socializing, eating, and live painting by artist Jared Washam. Mastrodicasa is encouraging guests to bring hula-hoops, poi, juggling balls, and whatever other festival-esque activities they like.

      There will also be a breakfast bar, a juice bar, and wheatgrass shots. All of the food is organic and sourced from local farmers, including Klippers Organic Acres, Forstbauer Family Natural Food Farm, Vancouver Food Pedalers Cooperative, and Cedar Isle Farms.

      Glickman and Mastrodicasa have worked at various Vancouver farmers markets for the last three seasons, and are passionate about supporting local farmers. Mastrodicasa felt that the event would give her the opportunity to give back, “in a bigger way than I have ever been able to before.”

      Richard Glickman and Hillary Mastrodicasa hosted their first Synergy Session in April. Their next event takes place this Sunday (June 19).
      Amanda Siebert

      “We really want to get people excited about local organic food, because even in the last three years, we’ve seen a massive dip in people coming to the markets, and farmers are struggling,” she says.

      Glickman, Mastrodicasa’s other half, hails from London. Once fully engaged in the rave scene in the U.K., he says that the Synergy Session is “really representative of how we have changed.”

      “When I think of my friends back home, they’re still doing the same thing: they’re weekend warriors living for the party,” he says.

      While the Syngery Session and similar events are relatively new to Vancouver, drug-free raves have been on the rise in big cities worldwide.

      “I think the movement away from using drugs and drinking and chemical entertainment is happening because that used to be the counterculture, and now that’s become mainstream,” Glickman says. “People are looking for something new."

      “I think the whole point of drinking and using drugs is that people always want to make a connection, whether that’s with the DJ, the style of living, the music, or with other people. If we can create that for a few hours, and then you can go about your day and not feel awful, you’ll feel better by it,” he says.

      The first Synergy Session took place in April. While Mastrodicasa and Glickman admitted that people started the day feeling a little sheepish, by 10 a.m., “they had freed themselves of that scary feeling that people often have at a club or rave before they’re drunk or high, and came out of their shells.”

      The event’s tag line, “move, nourish, connect” says it all.

      Their second event is scheduled for this Sunday, June 19 at Stretch Yoga (180 East Pender Street). A third will take place in Squamish in July. Find more information on the Synergy Session Facebook page.

      Take a look inside the first Synergy Session.
      Garima Gulati

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