Today Show's Joy Bauer to Headline Chelsea's 'Healthy Towns' Party

In an effort to promote health awareness in western Washtenaw County, the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation (CWF) is planning a "Five Healthy Towns" block party on Sept. 25.

The free event will take place at Chelsea High School from noon to 4 p.m. and feature presentations, games and events centered around healthy eating and exercise. Joy Bauer, nutritionist for The Today Show on NBC, will headline the event.

Other highlights include kids games, a Detroit Lions viewing party, ultimate frisbee demonstrations and a bicycle safety and inspection workshop. Families from the foundation's service area — Dexter, Chelsea, Manchester, Stockbridge and Grass Lake — will also compete in a "Over 50" softball tournament and a "Family Chef" challenge. The challenge requires one team from each community to create a healthy meal using only ingredients from the Chelsea Farmers Market. Each team will be given a stipend to purchase food and 60 minutes to complete the challenge at Chelsea High School's kitchen lab.

"As a twist, no teams can have a professional chef and at least one member has to be under 18," Matt Pegouskie, program and community resource manager for the CWF said.

The day will conclude with presentations by award-winning fitness coach John Colver, author of "Fit by Nature." Colver, who is currently traveling around the county by bicycle to promote his new book, will make a special visit to Chelsea for the event.

Pegouskie said the event will be used as a springboard to introduce residents to their town's foundation representatives, who consist of local officials devoted to promoting healthy living in their respective communities.

In addition to the party, the CWF has launched a "Faceoff on Facebook" promotion to give away a new bicycle or kayak from Aberdeen Bike & Sports.

The challenge is open to anyone who "likes" the foundation's Facebook page.

The foundation's goal is to reach 1,000 fans by the end of the year. However, the lucky 800th fan will receive the bike or kayak, Pegouskie said.

"Our original goal was 800 and we're already at 721 (as of Thursday), so we decided to try and break 1,000 fans by the end of the year," he said.

No prize has been announced if the foundation meets its goal.

"We saw that we had a lot of response on Facebook but there has been a lull in the summer, so we wanted to engage our communities. What better way to do that than to partner with a local business to offer a prize that encourages healthy living?" Pegouskie said of the challenge.

For more information on the Facebook challenge or the "Five Healthy Towns Party," visit the CWF's website.