By John DeCoste
Two years ago, Holly Silver saw a need for a holistic health and wellness fair in Kings County, so she took matters into her own hands and organized one.
After two years in Kingston, the event moved this year to the New Minas fire hall.
“I had always attended the Wellness Fair in Halifax, and found it useful,” Silver said. “There wasn’t anything like that around here, so I thought I’d organize one.”
To Silver, the event introduces the public to the concept of holistic health, “and it’s also good exposure for the practitioners and therapists.”
Her first two events were reasonably well attended, but Silver chose to relocate to New Minas in search of an even larger turnout.
Speaking late in the afternoon - the event ran from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. - she pointed out, “in the first two hours, we had 200 people through the door, and it’s been a steady flow all day.”
Silver had 27 vendors, representing the entire spectrum of holistic health, from reflexology and massage therapy to energy painting.
“I actually had a waiting list for vendors,” she added.
Visitors, she suggested, “might come to see a specific person, and while they’re here, they can take the opportunity to check out the other booths as well. It’s like one-stop shopping.”
Among the demonstrations at the fair was one on belly dancing. According to presenter Angie Oriana Jenkins, belly dancing is a fun and healthy activity with a lot of benefits for overall health and wellness.
“There are so many benefits,” she said. “The activity can develop core strength, improve flexibility, and get a person in touch with their sensuality.”
Belly dancing “can also help with balance and coordination, and can also boost self-confidence and self-awareness of one’s body image. It can also help women bond in positive ways.”
This was Silver’s third holistic health and wellness fair.
“I would like to do it again, as long as my time permits,” she added.
