BAY CITY, MI When John Sharp and his wife Sherrylearned that the Dow Bay Area Family Y was hosting a health and wellness fair, they had several reasons to attend. The Sharps, who left Bay City in 1994, recently moved back to the area and were looking for a fitness center to join in addition to learning about health issues and opportunities.

"It's really educational, and I learned a lot of things about health that you might not realize," Sherry Sharp said. "This was alsoan opportunity for us to see the Y, and the facility reallyis beautiful."

The Dow Bay Area Family Ypartneredwith the Bay City branch of the NAACP to providea free health and wellness fair at the Y, 225 Washington Ave., on Monday, Aug. 27. The eventbegan at 2:30 p.m. and runs until 6:30 p.m.

Linda Lones, community outreach and communications director for the Y, said that shehopes the health and wellness fairdraws at least onethousand people to the facility.

"Mondays are the busiest days, and we are hoping for a good turnout," Lones said. "On a normal day, there are around 3,000 program participants, members and visitors with day passes at the Y."

The health and wellness fair featured free fitness classes taught by Y instructors and interactive experiences with 43vendors from local groups andhealth organizations.

"All the vendors have a passion for healthy living," said Cait Chojnacki,health and wellness director for the Y. "The organizations are across the spectrum when it comes to mind, body and spiritual wellness."

Jennifer Miles of Clifford represented Saginaw Valley State University's occupational therapyprogram. Miles emphasized the importance of preventive care and said that therapy is a rewarding field to work in.

"Nothing beats the look you see on the face of a senior citizen who can stand up from a chair on their own after a hip replacement," Miles said. "It's a look of hope."

The health and wellness fair was an opportunity to educate visitors about health issues throughout Bay County, and within the minority population, said Darold Newton, president of the Bay City branch of the NAACP.

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Health and Wellness Fair draws crowd at Dow Bay Area Family Y