Festival of Books and Health Fair Bind ‘Community Day’ Stroll to Family Fun

Free books for the kids. Wine tasting for adults. Chalk art contests for all ages. Blood tests and health screenings to keep you fit. Even a one-year anniversary to celebrate. All this is magically mixed together with music and laughter to bring the whole community out for a beautiful fall day of fun, strolling from one end of Frazier Park to the other on Saturday, Sept. 26 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bookending the day’s attractions are the Festival of Books and Blood Drive in Frazier Mountain Park and (a few minutes stroll across town) the 8th Annual Chalk Art Festival at the Coffee Cantina on Mt. Pinos Way.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Frazier Mountain Park, the Festival of Books (jointly sponsored by Rotary Club of the Frazier Mountain Communities and the Houchin Bloodmobile) will give away books free of charge to children in grades K-6.

Watch for Clifford the Red Dog and McGruff on hand to tell stories and entertain under the oak trees and inside the Community Center.

Houchin’s Bloodmobile will be in the parking lot. Call for an appointment (245-3456).

As you stroll from the park through town, stop by A Spot of Bead, 3436 Mt. Pinos Way, between 10 and 4 to congratulate Deborah and Robin on their one-year anniversary.

They’ll have refreshments, music, sign-ups for classes, discounts on supplies, and vendors offering unique jewelry, Native American inspirations, stoneware and other artists’ wares.

A short walk down Frazier Park’s new sidewalks will bring you to the Health Fair at Frazier Park School just a few steps from the corner of Mt. Pinos Way and San Carlos Drive.

When the Lebec clinic stepped back this year from offering the health fair, the trusty Girl Scout Troop #281 jumped in. The Health Fair runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. offering free mammograms, bone density tests, stroke study tests, basic chemistry panels, and even free body mass index tests.

Only a few more paces down Mt. Pinos Way is the 8th Annual Chalk Art Festival at Coffee Cantina. You’ll see artists of all ages and abilities covering the parking lot in a colorful patchwork of designs and pictures. There will be music, wine tasting, a raffle and a jump house for the kids.

Deborah Turner of the Mountain Communities Rotary Club and Kate Donahue of Coffee Cantina were inspired to join forces since so many wonderful activities were occurring in Frazier Park on the same day.

“We hope it will become the first of many annual Community Days,” Turner said.

So bring the family out for a fun fall day of healthy walking and enjoy the music, the local businesses and vendors, and most importantly, the spirit of community that makes our mountain area so special.

Something Important

Dear Editor,

This year Troop 281 is hosting a Health Fair in order to earn the honorable Gold Award. It has been very fun and rewarding to be a part of a troop that has grown and learned together since Brownies. From camping trips and surf camp, we’ve grown to hosting an event for the entire community.

We wanted to do something important and desperately needed in the community; thus the Health Fair was born. The Health Fair takes place on September 26 at Frazier Park School from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

We will offer free mammograms, bone density tests, stroke study tests, basic chemistry panels and also free body mass index tests. In addition to providing free health services on a first come first serve basis, we will have booths providing information from the following groups: Mountain Community Family Resource Center, Shelter on the Hill, American Red Cross-Disaster, American Red Cross-Mental Health, Maile Gray Hypnotherapy, Miss Fit, Pilates in the Pines, Boys & Girls Club of Frazier Mountain, TOPS, Workside Health, Curves, Books Are Fun, Hall Ambulance, Search & Rescue, Clinica Sierra Vista and Clinica Sierra Vista Behavioral Health.

We thank Southwest Health Care District for sponsoring all of the free health services that will be provided and would also like to thank Mountain Memories for sponsoring all of the remaining costs of this year’s Health Fair brought to you by the communities’ very own Girl Scout Troop 281.

In addition, we would like to dedicate this years’ Health Fair to William Scholtz who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Thank You,
Rosie Rojas

This is part of the September 25, 2009 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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