by Anna Idler
On August 26th 2017, the PennSuburban Chamber of Greater Montgomery County will be hosting its annual free Community Health & Wellness Fair at the Railroad Plaza in Lansdale. Kim Nguyen, Vice President of Member Services, cited the residents of Montgomery County as where the inspiration for this expo comes from.
“That search for people wanting to live a healthier lifestyle,” she notes. “That is the momentum that helped us get here.”
Kim has served eight years with the PennSuburban Chamber and takes pride in its current 800 members. PennSuburban Chamber is the largest chamber of commerce in Montgomery County and acts as a leading business advocate for the North Penn, Indian Valley, Western Bucks and Eastern Montgomery communities.
This is the 5th year the Chamber has hosted the Health & Wellness Fair. The fair itself is a part of Lansdale’s Founder’s Day, a celebration of the incorporation of the town of Lansdale back in 1872.
Kim estimates that 400-500 people participated in the past health and wellness fairs; vendors constantly run out of materials by the end of the day she observes (a great problem to have in my opinion).
“Success [of the event] is based on feedback from the participants,” Kim explains. “We make sure vendors had the opportunity to raise awareness about their products, meet the local community, and felt they had a space where they could showcase their mission and products.”
In past years, around 8 out of 50 vendors were nonmembers, but inquiries this year have steadily increased, according to the Chamber. There have been more and more requests to become vendors from proactive non members wanting to get further involved in their community and their Chamber.
Vendors vary and include many different, exciting practices around Montgomery County and the Philadelphia area. Well-known hospitals (such as Jefferson and Doylestown Health) are represented, along with independent physical therapists, yoga and spinning studios, urgent care and elder care facilities. There is no selling at this fair, only a collective sharing of information and resources.
Several grocery stores will be present with delicious food samples for attendees, and this year Sterlen Barr will be performing. Barr is the CEO of Rapping About Prevention, Inc. He is a health educator and motivational rap artist, encouraging youth to make positive choices about life and health. Barr has performed at thousands of classrooms, assemblies, and workshops for schools all over the world. There will be an arts table for kids at the fair as well to play games and partake in crafts while families make their ways around.
The PennSuburban Chamber has been hosting its Business Expo for a long time, and have found great success with that event. This year’s was held in June at Gwynedd Mercy University and included over 90 businesses participating and featured keynote speaker Michael Araten, K’NEX Brands, LP.
Kim and her team members are very excited about the newer Health & Wellness Fair because it is a “little more of a special niche.”
“Our committee felt that this was something that was lacking in community,” she says, about knowledge of wellness practices. “The foot traffic this fair brings, the families walking around on a Saturday outside, the whole day has that community flair to it.”
To find out more about the Community Health & Wellness Fair, check out the event page here. ALso, be sure to keep up to date with the PennSuburban Chamber’s wonderful networking opportunities through the organization’s event calendar.
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