Gardner to host second annual Health and Wellness Fair - what will be new this year?

Live music, free children's haircuts and free medical screenings will be just some of the new attractions visitors can expect at the second annual Greater Gardner Health and Wellness Fair.

The event, which is aimed at providing residents with a variety of ways to focus on their overall well-being – including physical, spiritual and emotional – will be held on Wednesday, April 17 from 5 to 7 p.m. in Perry Auditorium at Gardner City Hall.

“I think people are just excited to have a one-stop shop for everything wellness-related,” said Veronika Patty, prevention coordinator with the Gardner Health Department. “We have everything from healing sounds to martial arts to substance use prevention to wellness coaches.”

Patty said organizers deliberately scheduled this year’s fair during April school vacation to allow for families staying home for the week to attend the event. The event is sponsored by the Gardner Community Action Team, a coalition of community stakeholders dedicated to providing educational events for residents. Free haircuts for children will be available courtesy of Prestige Hair Studio in Gardner.

“When we started meeting and planning for this year, someone mentioned seeing free kids' haircuts at another event, and we thought it was a great idea because we’re doing this during school vacation week,” Patty said. “Prestige was willing to donate their time, and they’ll be bringing chairs, and they’ll be here for the full two hours – there’s no signup sheet prior to the event, but there might be a wait time.”

About 70 vendors expected to participate

There were around 50 vendors at last year’s event; there are already 70 vendors signed up to participate in this year’s event, Patty said. Most of the vendors from last year would be returning for the second annual fair, she said.

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Among the new vendors at this year’s event will be the Vascular Care Group of Leominster, which will be providing free medical screenings.

Office Manager Kathy Cuddy said her organization, which has participated in previous health fairs sponsored by the Gardner Senior Center, will provide free screenings for varicose veins and carotid artery disease.

“The screenings are completely painless,” Cuddy said. “For the carotid artery screening, it’s an ultrasound probe that we will run up and down the side of your neck, looking for narrowing in the carotid artery. For the varicose veins screening, we’ll just ask you to roll up your pants up to your knee.”

Anyone with a history of smoking, high cholesterol, or a history of diabetes or stroke in their family would benefit from a carotid artery screening, Cuddy said. Anyone experiencing pain in their varicose veins should be screened to find out what kind of treatments might be available.

Westminster-based Muscle and Mind Massage Therapy is another newcomer to this year’s fair, according to owner Melissa Powers, who said she would be offering free 5- to 10-minute chair massages.

“I work in Gardner on the weekends, and I thought (this fair) would maybe be a good way to introduce myself to the city and show people a little bit of what I offer,” said Powers.

Other first-time vendors will include Black Dove Studio, Kelly Knower Wellness Coaching, Damsel in Defense, and Lake Avenue Recovery. Returning vendors will include Alyssa’s Place, LUK Prevention, HEAL Collaborative, and the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.

Live musical performance a new feature to this year's fair

Live music will take the place of last year’s live onstage demonstrations, which Patty said did not quite fit with the format of the event.

“Although it was a great idea, people didn’t really stop and pay attention as they browsed around, so we thought some live music playing in the background would work better,” she said. Music at this year's event will be provided by Jordan Daigle, the activity director at Manor on the Hill assisted living center in Leominster.

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Organizers are reminding residents that free transportation to the event will be available via the regular MART bus scheduled.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Greater Gardner Health and Wellness Fair to include medical screenings