First-ever Wellness in Windham Health Festival

BRATTLEBORO, VT (July 16, 2012)--This year Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the Brattleboro Retreat and Grace Cottage Hospital are presenting the first-ever Wellness in Windham Health Festival. This fun, free, family-friendly event will be held on Saturday, September 22, 2012 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on the Brattleboro Retreat lawn. The festival will include live entertainment, fitness demonstrations, interactive activities focused on connecting the mind and body, kids’ activities, exhibitors with health and wellness information, and delicious, healthy foods.

The festival will highlight the range of resources in Windham County for helping individuals and families lead healthy and active lives. Besides having an exciting day, we hope everyone who attends will discover at least one new interest or piece of helpful information for themselves or their family.

In years past, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Grace Cottage hosted successful annual health fairs where people of all ages came out to learn new ways of getting and staying healthy. In early 2012, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Grace Cottage decided to partner with the Brattleboro Retreat, a private, not-for-profit psychiatric and addictions care hospital also located in Windham County, to present a larger community health event with even more activities and demonstrations for area residents to enjoy. We are very excited about our newly created Wellness in Windham partnership, which enables us to present a more comprehensive community wellness event to benefit families throughout the county.

Some of the activities planned for the 2012 Wellness in Windham Health Festival:

• Demonstrations of hula hooping, Zumba, belly dancing and more
• Performances by the Keene Cheshiremen Barbershop Chorus, Green Street Geckos, Happy Hearts Jump Rope Team and Sahibat Belly Dancers
• Cooking demonstration by the Brattleboro Food Co-op
• Face painting and obstacle course for kids
• Vermont National Guard climbing wall
• A variety of prizes and giveaways
• Health screenings
• Fun Trail Run.

Fun Trail Run:
To kick off this year’s Wellness in Windham Health Festival, we will be holding a Fun Trail Run on the Retreat Trails on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 10:00 am. This activity is free and open to the public.  The trail run will be approximately 1.5 to 2 miles, and runners will have the option of being timed.  Registration: 9:15 am – 9:45 am, and the Fun Trail Run starts at 10:00 am.  Registration and the start/finish location is the front lawn of the Brattleboro Retreat, 1 Anna Marsh Lane, Brattleboro, Vermont.

For more information about the event, please check the festival website, www.wellnessinwindham.org, or call 802-258-8877.  In case of rain on the day of the festival you can also check the website or call the number to find out if it will be held.

Presented in collaboration by Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the Brattleboro Retreat and Grace Cottage Hospital, Wellness in Windham is a newly-established community-centered initiative aimed at promoting health and wellness throughout Windham County, Vermont.