Features

August 24, 2010

Health festival not just for athletes

KIM ROLLMAN For Times Leader

As Labor Day weekend approaches, runners and bikers are gearing up for the Wilkes-Barre Health and Fitness Festival. The festival, however, is not just for athletes. The entire community is invited to participate in the event, which runs from 5-10 p.m. Sept. 3 on Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square and continues from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sept. 4 on the Square and the city’s River Commons.

Families can take advantage of the free entertainment, children’s activities, a health expo and more. The weekend promises “something for everyone” and will benefit the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Adoption Program at the Children’s Service Center of Wyoming Valley.

The festival is a project of Wilkes-Barre Racing, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for adoption programs through fitness-related events, and is the brainchild of Rich and Julie Pais. The Wilkes-Barre couple are the proud adoptive parents of a 6-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy. Avid runners and owners of 3:16 Athletic Wear in Kingston, they travel across the country to fitness-related events and decided Wilkes-Barre would be a perfect venue for a festival and to promote adoption.

“We hope that people will become aware of the wonderful kids in Luzerne County who need a home,” said Julie Pais.

Steve Kepic, owner of 11 Wendy’s restaurants in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, explained that although the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids adoption program at Children’s Service Center is highly successful in finding homes for children, more funding is needed to expand the program. Kepic said Children’s Service Center provides crucial after-adoption counseling and related services to the children.

“When you put a 10-year-old into a new home,” he said, “after-care services become crucial to help ease the transition.”

In addition to the competitive events the public can participate in free fitness classes, a rock climbing wall, a relaxing float down the Susquehanna River and plenty of family activities.

The festival will kickoff at 5 p.m. Friday with a fitness expo and a free concert on Public Square. The public is invited to visit the Blue Cross Pavilion where they will find a plethora of health and fitness information and give-a-ways, as well as arts and crafts for children. On Saturday, a free pancake breakfast will be served from 8-9:30 a.m. at the River Commons Park and the Sundance Vacations Family Activity Center will offer an exciting menu of family activities from 9:15-11:30 a.m. The fitness expo and free concerts will continue all day on the Square. The final event of the festival, the Wet Paint T-Shirts Main Street Mile, will start at 8 p.m. on Saturday and includes The Bonner Chevrolet High School Challenge, which will award $500 to the athletic department of the school with the most participants. Cost to enter is $15 per person.

So, if you’re an athlete or someone just looking for something to do on Labor Day weekend, the Wilkes-Barre Health and Fitness Festival is the place to be. Most importantly, you’ll be part of a team that’s raising much-needed funds for local children who need families.

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