What a terrific way to start the New Year off on the right foot! On behalf of Blue Zones Project - North Hawaii, we extend our warmest mahalo to all who partnered with us and/or participated in our free Walk-and-Talk event on January 3.

This includes the 2016 Waimea Ocean Film Festival, Mala`ai School Garden, Waimea Outdoor Circle's Ulu La`au (Nature Park), and Blue Dragon Restaurant's Chef Noah Hester and his assistant Chef Tony.

It was a wonderful experience to witness the Blue Zones Power 9 in motion:

"Moving Naturally" with a walk to Waimea Nature Park where Leningrad Elarionoff and Cheryl Langton gave the group a sense of "Belonging" and a deeper understanding of our native culture, and native plants, followed by an awesome "Plant Slant" cooking demo and tasting by Chef Noah, the thoughtful and informative tour of Mala`ai's beautiful culinary garden by Amanda Rieux with help from Alethea Lai and Holly Sargeant-Green, then concluding with an introduction to Blue Zones core values including putting "Family First", committing to finding or revisiting our "Purpose," and for some, learning to "Downshift"!

This is what it's all about – being a part of the “Right Tribe” as we work individually and collectively to help our North Hawaii community be a healthier and even happier place to live! With deep gratitude, we wish all of our new friends and partners a joy-filled, healthy and purposeful 2016!