An event-goer bows in prayer at the Addiction Eviction Rally Saturday, June 1, 2024 at Robert A. Tinnon Park.

An annual outdoor event aimed at strengthening families and community returns this Saturday to Swan Creek Park in Athens, when the 7th annual Addiction Eviction rally will offer testimony and encouragement in a festival-like atmosphere focused on helping people conquer addiction.

Held each year on the first Saturday in June, the rally is the creation of Lori Masnoia through her faith-based nonprofit ministry, which she founded to connect others with resources that can help break destructive cycles. 

This year’s Addiction Eviction rally will kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 7. 

The rally is open to all and free to attend, with food trucks on site throughout the day with goodies for sale to hungry guests. A white dove ceremony at 3 p.m., themed to commemorate the lives of local residents lost to addiction, will highlight the event, alongside a roster of special guest speakers offering personal testimony of how addiction has affected their lives — and how they overcame it. 

“It’s a really, really awesome event,” Masonia told the News-Courier in May. “If you’re facing some kind of addiction and you decide that you want to get help, we have resources like recovery homes, places that deal with mental illness. They set up vendor tables and give out their info, and if you’re ready to get help, they would take you that day.”