Hundreds attend third annual Healthy Living Expo

A HEALTHY LYNNFIELD High School Youth Council member Janhavi Joglekar (left) paints Kira Berman’s face during the third annual Healthy Living Expo on the Town Common on May 18. A Healthy Lynnfield and the Wakefield Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the event once again. (Dan Tomasello Photo)

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — Passing showers did not prevent 400 residents from coming together to celebrate a healthy lifestyle during the third annual Healthy Living Expo on the Town Common on Saturday, May 18.

A Healthy Lynnfield and the Wakefield Area Chamber of Commerce joined forces to host the Healthy Living Expo on the Town Common once again. The event featured more than 40 health, wellness and lifestyle vendors.

“We are really pleased with this year’s turnout,” said Substance Use Prevention Coordinator Peg Sallade. “Everybody had a great time and enjoyed all of the different health vendors here.”

A Healthy Lynnfield Chair Phil Crawford agreed.

“It was by far the best Healthy Living Expo we have done,” said Crawford. “I am incredibly happy with the great turnout we had. We had a great mix of different vendors from different parts of healthy living.”

Similar to previous Healthy Living Expos, this year’s event began with the popular senior Zumba demonstration on the Town Common. The Senior Center’s cheer squad, the Pomtastics, performed in front of a large crowd and was a huge hit with townspeople.

“I am very impressed with the energy and the vitality the Pomtastics have,” said Crawford. “They are great role models for the community.”

Awesome Robb the Magician entertained young children and families with his humorous magic show. Instructors from Cervizzi’s Martial Arts Academy also entertained youngsters and families while conducting martial arts demonstrations. Steve Blunt also performed family music on the stage.

A Healthy Lynnfield Community Outreach and Engagement Coordinator Diana DeLeo said the Healthy Living Expo featured a wide range of vendors from Lynnfield and surrounding communities.

“This year was nice because it was the first time vendors have come to us instead of us going to them because we are established,” said DeLeo. “We reached out to vendors from prior years and contacts we have through coalition members. Senior Center Director Linda Naccara was a huge help getting some of the senior agencies to come to the event. It’s great that we now have organizations and businesses that come to us when they see the promotions for the event and want to get involved.”

DeLeo said there were “all types of health and wellness vendors” at the Healthy Living Expo.

“We had personal trainers, chiropractors, yoga instructors, social service agencies, the National Alliance on Mental illness, the Department of Children and Families and more at the expo,” DeLeo. “We also had town organizations involved such as the Police Department, Fire Department and Lynnfield Recreation. We had a broad range of groups here.”

A Healthy Lynnfield’s Youth Councils from Lynnfield High School and Lynnfield Middle School volunteered at the Healthy Living Expo. A large number of young children waited in line to have LHS Youth Council members paint their faces at the event.

“It was great having the Youth Councils from the high school and middle school at the Healthy Living Expo,” said DeLeo.

The Planning and Conservation Department and the Friends of the Lynnfield Rail Trail organized a Bike Rodeo for young children as part of the new Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. Land Use Assistant Sondria Berman said the SRTS program “works with schools and communities throughout the state to educate and encourage students to walk, bike and roll to school safely.”

“Schools that participate in the program through events like this are eligible to apply for SRTS infrastructure grants, which can be used to build and repair sidewalks, bike lanes and signage adjacent to public schools,” said Berman.

DeLeo said the Bike Rodeo was a “nice addition” to the Healthy Living Expo.

A mini farmer’s market that sold a variety of items such as cheese, empanadas, honey, seedlings and tea was featured at the Healthy Living Expo.

“The Wakefield Area Chamber of Commerce was instrumental in helping us pull together the mini farmers market this year,” said Sallade.

The Chicken and the Pig food truck and the Cool Cow Ice Cream truck were also big hits with attendees.

Sallade also thanked Realtor Ellen Crawford for sponsoring and hosting “Geraniumfest” at the Healthy Living Expo.

“Ellen decided to do that on her own to support A Healthy Lynnfield,” said Sallade. “That was very nice.”

The sponsors of the third annual Healthy Living Expo were Beth Israel Lahey Health, Dermatology and Skin Health, First Financial Trust, The Savings Bank, Kelly Automotive Bank, Lynnfield Rotary, MarketStreet Lynnfield, the Massachusetts Center for Adolescent Wellness (MCAW), Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, Soccer Shots, The Vault, the Think of Michael Foundation, the Torigian YMCA, Wakefield Co-operative Bank, Wakefield Area Chamber of Commerce, Walmart in North Reading, Whole Foods Market, Fitness Together, Realtor Ellen Crawford, A.A. Dority Company, Inc., Cataldo Ambulance Service, Pure Barre of Lynnfield, Lynnfield Dental Care, Cervizzi’s Martial Arts Academy and Bob Priestley/Boston AV Rental.

“We couldn’t hold this event without our sponsors,” said Sallade. “We had a tremendous response from our sponsors who wanted to contribute.”

Sallade also thanked planning committee members Phil Crawford, Senior Center Director Linda Naccara, Health Director Coral Hope, Wakefield Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Smolinsky, Chamber Executive Assistant Francine Recinito, Dr. Natasha Shah, MCAW Family and Community Relations Director Tiffany Leyne and School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio for organizing the Healthy Living Expo.

“I want to thank them for helping pull this event together,” said Sallade.

Sallade also thanked the Department of Public Works and the Police Department for helping A Healthy Lynnfield and the Wakefield Area Chamber of Commerce with the expo’s logistics.

“We had a lot of community members sign up to volunteer at the event,” added Sallade. “It’s great because it means people know what we do and like what we do, and they were willing to lend a helping hand.”

Crawford thanked Sallade and DeLeo for working very hard to make the third annual Healthy Living Expo a huge success.

“I can’t say enough about how wonderful of a job Peg and Diana have done putting this event together and running it,” said Crawford.

Crawford said the Healthy Living Expo serves as a great opportunity to bring the Lynnfield community together while supporting a great cause.

“We want to make sure people feel community spirit and we want to push the mission that healthy eating and healthy living is a better way to live your life,” said Crawford.

Sallade said the origins of the Healthy Living Expo started a few years ago.

“We had a vision of holding a community-wide event that was connected with our mission,” said Sallade. “We connected with the Council on Aging, which used to hold a similar event inside the Senior Center during the fall. We just decided to team up and bring the best of both to the community so that people can get to know a little bit about A Healthy Lynnfield and really understand that we promote health across all ages in Lynnfield.”