The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation will begin its 75th anniversary celebration Friday with a gala at The Armory in Minneapolis as part of a weekend featuring special guests and speakers, musical performances and workshops.

Emceed by actor Rob Lowe, Friday’s featured guests at the invite-only event include Famous Dave’s founder Dave Anderson and honorary event chair Susan Ford Bales, daughter of former President Gerald Ford and former First Lady Betty Ford.

The event, called the “Still Breaking Through” gala, will include a reception and dinner, as well as speakers’ stories of recovery and support to others, said Moira McGinley, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation vice president and chief transformation officer.

The event will celebrate the legacy of the organization and those who came before, McGinley said.

Groundbreaking, Dan Anderson, Pat Butler, 1964, Center City, Used in Together Magazine Spring 2019. (Courtesy of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.)

“But even more than that, it’s about the future and it’s about those individuals who are still in communities, still suffering in isolation, who have the opportunity to still get help. And we have a lot of plans as we move forward to help individuals,” McGinley said.

Weekend events include an anniversary lunch, additional musical performances, an alumni panel and a book signing.

Founded in 1949 in Center City as the Hazelden Foundation, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation provides addiction recovery services to approximately 25,000 patients and family members annually, according to McGinley.

First Lady Betty Ford visited Hazelden before starting the Betty Ford Center, which opened in 1982 in California and in 2014 merged with the Hazelden Foundation.

RELATED: Hazelden merger helps Betty Ford Center with its recovery

The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation has an outpatient drug and mental health treatment center at 680 Stewart Avenue in St. Paul. The center provides services such as recovery coaching, a sober living community and parallel support for family members of patients. The Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School also holds some classes and internship opportunities at the St. Paul campus.

Many end up staying in St. Paul and Minnesota after receiving recovery services here, in part because of the strong community and fellowship in the area, such as other Hazelden Betty Ford alumni, McGinley said.

“With the disease of addiction, it’s really about isolation, and the healing comes with community and connectedness. So building these really strong communities is essential for someone to have lifelong, long-term recovery,” McGinley said.

The foundation has been an innovator and leader in recovery and continues to be, McGinley said. It’s working to enhance its individualized mental health services and build services for family members and children of patients, as well as its post-treatment support options and alumni network, McGinley said.

While the event celebrates the past 75 years, the foundation also is looking forward.

“This celebration is really about 75 years of recovery, 75 years of innovation and really helping people find hope,” McGinley said.

To learn more about the celebration, visit hazeldenbettyford.org/75th-anniversary.

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