KANNAPOLIS — If an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure, then local residents can stock up Saturday on enough prevention to fill their cabinets full of cure.
Pillowtex and Cannon Village invite folks from Kannapolis, Salisbury and surrounding areas to the first-ever Health & Fitness Extravaganza in the city’s downtown shopping district.
The health fair runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. If rain pushes events inside, they’ll be held at the Gem Theater on First Street and the former Waccamaw store on West Avenue.
Organizers have signed up dozens of health care providers, community service agencies, fitness promoters, food vendors and entertainers. They want the health fair to be fun, educational and, for the most part, free.
“We hope people will make it a day of good family fun that will also benefit the entire family,” said Phyllis Beaver, marketing manager for Cannon Village. “... I like to think of this as a gift to our community.”
The health fair kicks off at 9 a.m. with a one-mile family fitness walk starting at the Cannon Village Visitors Center on West Avenue. Walkers will get a Cannon Village shopping bag filled with items from Pillowtex and other shops.
Health care booths, exhibits and mobile units will sit in Veterans Park — formerly Town Park — and along the streets of Cannon Village, doing blood pressure checks and screenings for diabetes, cholesterol, hearing, vision and bone density.
Informational exhibits include prostate, cardiac and cancer care; women and children’s health; breast cancer in black women; physical fitness and weight training; and juvenile diabetes.
Senior citizens and others who take a variety of drugs can bring them and learn from a pharmacist how the drugs might interact and potential problems that could create.
One-hour seminars include the warning signs of a heart attack — Cabarrus County has a higher than average rate of heart disease — and even the most nutritious choices at fast food restaurants.
Many of the health fair’s exhibits and events will be aimed at children. They include a booth making identification cards for kids, cancer awareness in children, storytelling and face painting.
The Kannapolis Police Department canine unit, a Cabarrus County Bomb Squad exhibit, Intimidators mascots and Kannapolis Fire Department’s Blaze the Dog will be on hand.
Organizers have produced flyers on the event in English and Spanish. A bilingual translator will roam the fair to help answer questions for Latinos who speak little or no English, and some health care providers speak Spanish.
The joint venture between Pillowtex and Cannon Village arose when the company began calling around to set up a similar fair for its employees, only to find out that Cannon Village had already planned one for the same day.
Lisa Jolly, Pillowtex benefits supervisor, said previous company health fairs have helped educate and uncover potential health problems for employees, and the company happily partnered with Cannon Village to extend that benefit to the community.
“If it turns out really well, we hope it will be something we can promote every year,” she said.
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