'Noon Year' mocktail party serves as non-alcoholic way to ring in 2025

Sober Edmontonians rung in the new year Wednesday with a "Noon Year" celebration at a mocktail bar.

Sober Edmontonians rung in the new year Wednesday with a "Noon Year" celebration at a mocktail bar.

"When I heard about this place, I just knew instantly, OK, these will be like-minded people," Shauna Letendre told CTV News Edmonton during an interview at Spilt Zero Proof, which opened in June and calls itself the capital city's first dedicated mocktail bar.

"I thought that it is a perfect opportunity to come and see what this is about. I love the vibe, I love the energy, and I'm in the right place, for sure."

She found quitting alcohol was isolating.

"Finding a sober community can be really challenging and there are currently not a lot of places in Edmonton that really uplift a non-alcohol community and good time. Like, it's really counter culture," Letendre said.

"We want to help show people that this can be fun," said Spilt's founder and CEO, JoAnne Pearce, of the Jan. 1 event.

"When you quit drinking, staying up until midnight and going out with the crowds and being around a lot of drunk people becomes less appealing… So we thought we would embrace that."