Despite the terrible allergies that come with the spring season, the outside world is beginning to look a whole lot more welcoming.
That Oklahoma sunshine is out, the wind is sweeping across the plains and more than a few metro residents are about to realize that their hot lake bods are better described as not lake bods.
Oklahoma Gazette, Broadway Clinic and Optima Weight & Wellness Center are here to help with that.
Ready, Gazette, Go!, a free health and food festival at Myriad Botanical Gardens, 301 W. Reno Ave., offers Oklahoma City metro residents and visitors the opportunity to explore a variety of exercises, foods and physical therapies from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The health initiative is important for this city, said Christy Duane, Gazette marketing director. The obesity rate is high throughout Oklahoma. We want to expose metro Oklahomans to a variety of fitness, nutrition and health options in an accessible and fun way so they can live healthier lives.
The festival features an assortment of trainer-led fitness and nutrition demonstrations that will take place in seven health zones sponsored by 7-Eleven, YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City, Scott Sabolich, The Broadway Clinic and Optima Weight & Wellness.
These zones will offer 30-minute fitness demonstrations at the start of every hour 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. that attendees can participate in. Demonstrations include kickboxing, Zumba, yoga, stretching, core fitness, Pilates, stationary rowing, cross training, dance fitness and even the martial art Muay Thai.
Short health discussions led by OKC doctors will be held at the :40 mark of each hour. Topics include weight loss, hormone replacement and menopause. Whole Foods Market of Oklahoma City will host cooking demonstrations led by healthy eating specialist JaLillian Cook, who will also share free samples of her creations.
In between demonstrations and health talks, participants can peruse 13 vendor tents located around the garden grounds and partake in eats from food trucks such as Green & Grilled and The Healthy Hippo.
Other attractions include the OKC Thunder Girls, who will encourage attendees during demonstrations, and D-Lo Mobile Music, which will DJ the event.
Obesity currently impacts nearly 1 in 3 Oklahomans according to a 2013 report, The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America, from Trust for Americas Health. Of those, 17.4 percent are 10-17 year-olds, 23.8 percent are 18-25 year-olds and 33.5 percent are 26-44 year-olds.
That means 1.25 million Oklahomans are obese.
To learn more, visit okgazette.com/readygazettego.
Print headline: Its Go! time, A free fitness festival aims to help get metro residents on track.