( wellness fair rounds out its sixth year )

wellness fair rounds out its sixth year

by jennifer hetrick

      

hop, trot, skip, or speed-walk on out saturday, march 26, for your health, and visit the cub & bear gym areas of the boyertown area senior high for the sixth annual wellness fair—at no admission cost.

     

the boyertown area community wellness council sponsors this event every spring in hopes of reeling members of the area out of their homes and into the mindset of making efforts to put health first at the family and individual level.

     

with more awareness in recent years of the need to mingle health into better habits, the council formed in the mid-2000s with people from pottstown memorial medical center, teachers in the local school district, doctors, parents of students, senior citizens, and other members of the community on the council, totaling to 18 active members.

     

“the pottstown area health & wellness foundation is always our biggest sponsor,” said carla haydt, director of the council.

     

vendors usually total around 30 to 40, haydt said, with local businesses and organizations doing wellness-geared tasks around the community.

     

yoga and fitness center instructors will be offering demonstrations, with belly dancing and heart monitoring samplings usually involved. obstetricians, those running holistic operations, and even clayote will be on site at the fair.

     

because of the event’s theme, haydt is deservingly picky about the vendors who are allowed to sign up, and each one in some way or another is promoting the idea of overall body and life wellness in their endeavors.

     

the american cancer society, brookside montessori school, lehigh valley vegetarians, new hanover chiropractic, royal medical, master kim's black belt academy, serenity junction wellness center, reading-berks auto club foundation for safety, berks east gymnastics, chestnut knoll, and mothers against drunk driving are just a handful of the vendors at this year's wellness fair.

     

sometimes people suddenly recognize resources in the community for the first time by  visiting the fair, haydt said, like how every saturday in-season, right down the street is plenty of fresh fruit, veggies, pies, and more at the boyertown farmers’ market, in the vein of supporting locally and knowing food is raised by fellow residents and nearby pennsylvanians, not shipped from across the country for days on end, picked before its prime.

     

haydt said this sudden light bulb in the brain effect of fair goers learning about these great parts of the community aimed toward better eating, care for health, and improving lifestyles is a huge part of what the event is all about each year.

     

free food and water are available as well, with carrots and make-your-own-trail-mix as an option for when hunger hits.

     

an event poured into each instance of the wellness fair is the running of the bears. this is a competition in which elementary students at the seven buildings in the boyertown area school district see who can perform the most laps throughout the day.

( the running of the bears

photograph courtesy of carla haydt )

the running of the bears became a part of the wellness fair three years ago and involves a fellow named healthy bear. the school with the highest number of laps by day’s end wins, with the trophy as the annually traveling healthy bear—painted as a track runner, made of fiberglass, and intended as a miniature of the bears around town—taking a nice year-long stay at the winning school.

     

in the first year, washington elementary school took the decorative bear home, and in the past two years, boyertown elementary school has secured the most laps, bringing healthy bear back to the second street location.

     

last year, haydt and her fellow council members brought in a moon bounce for the first time, which she said was of course a smash of a good time for the kids.

     

an obstacle course is also always incorporated into the event to keep young children active and in line with valuing the importance of agility and blending brainpower with body movement.

     

haydt anticipates that around 500 people will lightly waltz their way through the fair this year and noted that it is open to anyone, even those outside of the local school district.

     

door prizes will also be given away to attendees from select vendors, with a list of them noted in the program for the day.

     

this year’s wellness fair runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. more information can be found on the boyertown area community wellness council’s website at www.bacwc.org.