Bonus Episode: Countdown to Vancouver! [Season 1]

- The views and opinions expressed during this podcast are those of our guests. No one person speaks for A.A. as a whole. (upbeat music) - Welcome to a very special bonus episode of "Our Primary Purpose." We're going to discuss the upcoming A.A. International Convention which takes place this July 3rd through the 6th in Vancouver, British Columbia. My name is Nathan, I'm an alcoholic. Welcome to the International Convention.

(upbeat music continues) We sat down with four board members and a GSO staff coordinator to chat about A.A.'s biggest event. What is it, why is it such a big deal? And what it's like to experience it for yourself. Here's Carolyn W. and Vera F. sharing the overall vibe. - It is electric. There is so much enthusiasm. Everyone just really wants to show people how welcome they are and participate. The enthusiasm for it is huge.

- You can imagine walking into this massive arena that's filled with tens of thousands of sober alcoholics all gathered together for recovery and this overwhelming sense of unity and joy. From the moment that you walk in, this energy just engulfs you. People are laughing and hugging old friends and making new ones. And the sound of 40,000 plus AA members saying the Serenity Prayer in unison is one of those moments that kind of gives you chills.

- But it's not all huge crowds and large gatherings. - I think the amazing thing for me personally is just the those quiet moments of personal connection that you can find in this great big place full of people. And I don't know who that'll be or where I'll find them, but I know that there will be those moments I share with other A.A. members who we just pause in a hallway somewhere or randomly sit next to each other in a meeting somewhere and have that brief moment of connection.

It's really, really special. - People can expect of course speaker meetings, there's workshops, panels featuring A.A. members from all over the world. If you're interested in history or you're interested in service or you're just interested in personal stories of recovery, I think there's something there for everyone. There's smaller sessions on more specific topics, opportunities to connect with people from different countries. I sat in on some meetings just to hear the language.

I sat in on a a meeting spoken in German and I just wanted to hear the language. And you know, besides the official programming, you know, there's plenty to do. Grab coffee with some friends, explore the whole city. - Speaking of exploring the city, here's Trish L. to tell us about a popular tradition at the International Convention. - When the meetings end on the Friday night and Saturday night at the convention center, the convention campus in Vancouver includes BC Place Stadium.

It's about a 20 minute walk from the convention center itself to BC Place Stadium. So Walk The Walk is all of us walking who choose, who can, walking from the convention center to BC Place Stadium and the excitement builds with every block. In Minneapolis, I thought I was floating on air and I'm so excited to think that the city of Vancouver and our local members get to experience Walk The Walk at this particular convention. - It sounds like Vancouver is a great city to Walk The Walk.

- Oh, I really can't wait, it will be spectacular. - And once we get to the stadium. - I think for most people, you know, a highlight are the big meetings which will be in BC Place Stadium and all of us gathered together and witnessing together and hearing together the Old-Timers Meeting, the saying of the Serenity Prayer in the languages represented but together as one voice. - This is from the 1990 International Convention in Seattle, Washington.

- God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Thank you. - Tom H. had a favorite memory from that same convention. - At my first in Seattle, and I was only a couple years sober at the time. And at the closing ceremony, a blind woman was led to the microphone to sing "Amazing Grace." And when she sang, "I was blind but now I see," there wasn't a dry eye in the place. - Here's Trish again.

- For me, a highlight of any International that I've ever ever been to, and this could only happen in Alcoholics Anonymous, and it was the hard work of the organizers of that convention, was hearing a a young man who was serving time in the Georgia prison system share for the first time publicly, for the first time outside of a jail or institution in front of all those 57,000 people under the dome in Atlanta, sharing his experience, strength, and hope. That was extraordinary.

You could hear a pin drop. - Another favorite is the Old-Timers Meeting. - The way that works is that members with over 50 years of sobriety, they all sit in a section very close to the stage, the names are randomly pulled and we get to hear from 15 or so of them, I guess, that come up on stage and share for five minutes.

And again, it's just one of those things that's extremely powerful, enlightening, humorous to see all that sobriety up there, just getting a couple of minutes to say a few things to the crowd. - Then when we leave the meeting. - The beautiful light will probably be in the sky until about 10 o'clock at night.

That means that as people leave BC Place Stadium, having had this amazing collective experience together, they're going to be walking out into this lovely gloaming of a long, long summer night in Vancouver. It will be unforgettable. - Carolyn, do you keep in touch with anyone you've met at past International Conventions? - I actually have a couple friends I've met from out outside of Canada that intend to be there, one from Rwanda and one from Iran.

We'll see if they make it, but I'm sure hoping to get to see them at that meeting. - I have some friends that I know that are coming from as far away as Japan, South Africa. I know some folks in Australia who are coming. I think it's going to be a real global gathering and- - An excellent way to enhance one's experience at the convention is to do service. That opportunity is open to anyone. And Trish, who heads the Volunteer Committee, told us about the volunteer kickoff event.

- There were, you know, between 750 and 800 amazing, totally energized members of Alcoholics Anonymous there for this kickoff event. And I think they blew the lid off the building. And the energy, but it's not just the energy, it's the love for Alcoholics Anonymous. - What kind of volunteer positions are available? - Most of them involve greeting in some way or another.

Some don't, there are marathon meetings, so there's a specific committee for the marathon meetings that will be going 24/7 starting on the Thursday night of the convention. There's a Guest Headquarters Committee that again, that's greeting though, it will be sort of the nerve center for the volunteers and for us during the convention itself.

Even a committee like Global Languages, which is there to make sure that anybody whose first language is not necessarily English or even French or Spanish, has a way of communicating with us. It's you know, we're going to be able to connect them we hope with technology as well as other people. But even that is a form of greeting because you know, it's called Global Languages, but the theme of this convention is the Language of the Heart and that's what we all speak.

- There are many things to do at the convention and yet. - There's no way you could look at the program and know what your experience is gonna be because it just doesn't allow for the random lunch you ended up having with the group of people who were there from Poland. That happened to me in Atlanta, and you know you can't plan for that. That's just not in the program.

- Carolyn, for someone who's never visited British Columbia or the West Coast of Canada, what would you tell them that makes the area so special? - Oh my goodness, there is so much. Of course, the outdoors and we have some fantastic accessible outdoor spaces. The convention site itself is right on the ocean. You can quite literally walk 10 minutes to a beach. Lots of trees in Stanley Park. So, there's lots of that type of excitement to be had.

And if you're interested in, you know, museums, history, galleries, Pacific Northwest, indigenous art, I mean, we just have so much. I am so excited for people to get to see what we have here, in addition to just the big-hearted spirit of our A.A. community. - what kind of questions do you get? - People who aren't familiar with traveling to Canada have had questions about things like currency exchange. A lot of people don't know the Canadian dollar is about a $1.35, $1.40 US.

So whenever you see something in US dollar prices, it's actually like 35 to 40% less than it looks like. - Some folks might have some challenges crossing the border. - People have asked a lot of questions about how to enter Canada if you have a criminal record.

And I'm so glad that the General Service Office has done such a great job on those frequently asked questions 'cause there's links there on the aa.org website that go right to the correct information for like the official information so people don't have to guess or Google. You can go straight to the facts. - Patrick, the International Convention Staff Coordinator, had a friendly reminder. - The key date to keep in mind is April 15th.

That's when our pre-registration will end and the registration price will increase. So, if you're thinking about going to the International Convention, then now's the time to make those plans. - We're here with our arms open wide, and our hearts open and we're just waiting for the privilege to welcome all of you here to host this on behalf of Alcoholics Anonymous in the US and Canada. - If you've never been, then I'd say you are in for an experience like no other. (upbeat music)

- The 2025 A.A. International Convention, Language of the Heart, celebrating 90 years of Alcoholics Anonymous, July 3rd through the 6th in Vancouver, British Columbia. Information about the convention, registration, housing, volunteering, and more can be found at aa.org. We can't wait to see you there.

(upbeat music continues) - Thank you for listening to "Our Primary Purpose," a podcast produced by the General Service Office on behalf of the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous in the US and Canada. (gentle music)