On Saturday, November 14, the Blue Zones Project Southwest Florida (SWFL) launched its “Healthier Southwest Florida” Kickoff event at beautiful North Collier Regional Park in Naples. Copies of Dan Buettner’s latest book were given to the first 100 in attendance, with our first attendee arriving almost 2 hours before the event to ensure she would be first in line for a copy. Attendees also received attractive Blue Zones Project SWFL gift bags, as well as Blue Zones Project SWFL t-shirts and clear, refillable water bottles with the Blue Zones Project SWFL logo.
Saturday dawned clear and bright, with cooler than usual temperatures, making it perfect weather for the family-friendly event about to unfold. Throughout the day the crowd was entertained with music played by a local D.J. as well as with performances from the Naples High School Band and Golden Gate High School cheerleaders. Multiple tents were scattered alongside the shore of the park’s pristine lake, giving everyone numerous locations to enjoy various activities.
Delicious food from Greek Gourmet, Russell’s Clambakes, The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club, and Edible Arrangements of Naples was distributed in the “Plant Slant Kitchen” tents using Blue Zones recipes such as Ikarian Longevity Stew, Roasted Beet Hummus, Cowboy Caviar, and Red Beans & Rice. In addition, fruit drinks were distributed to attendees by Delicious Raw. The “Downshift Lounge” featured Yoga, Zumba and Silver Sneakers instructors from Collier County Parks & Recreation as well as Tai Chi instructors from the NCH Wellness Center. Attendees were encouraged to participate in these 20 minute classes, then head off to enjoy free massages provided by the NCH Wellness Center.
The “Move Naturally” area, managed by FitNation, offered the opportunity to participate in a Natural Walk exploring the park’s preserve. Nearby we featured a “Blue Zones Community” which contained a Blue Zones supermarket checkout lane from Wynn’s Market, a restaurant setting with Blue Zones items on menus, and a worksite vending machine from Well Vending containing healthy options. In the “Adopt a Pet” tent Collier County Domestic Animal Service had Grace, a Boxer mix approximately 5 years old, available for adoption while other tents featured “Volunteer Opportunities,” managed by the Collier County United Way, and the very popular “Naples Pathways Coalition” tent where participants not only learned about Bike Safety but created yummy pineapple, banana and strawberry smoothies on a Smoothie Bike Blender.
Another popular tent was “Plant a Garden,” managed by the Collier County Master Gardeners from the University of Florida IFAS Extension, where attendees created their own flower pots and learned to correctly plant flowers or vegetables. Not to be outdone, the “Children’s Area” featured a Walking School Bus managed by All Children’s Hospital; Safe Routes to School Program, a Bounce House provided by the Collier County Sherriff’s Office, Children’s Yoga from Monarch Wellness Center, Kid’s games overseen by the University of Florida, IFAS Extension as well as Kid’s Gardening activities run by Sunshine Ace Hardware.
As participants strolled through the area they had the opportunity to don feathers and sunglasses for photo-ops at the Blue Zones Photo Booth. Others took time to relax and enjoy the festival-like, party atmosphere by coloring pictures at several nearby tables.
Dave Elliott, host of The Dave Elliott Show on 98.9 WGUF, was the emcee of the event. Before the keynote presentation Morgan Pressel, the youngest-ever winner of a modern LPGA major championship, shared opening remarks on why healthy eating and active living have been so important in her career and personal life. Dr. Allen Weiss, CEO and President of the NCH Healthcare System which brought the Blue Zones Project to Southwest Florida, addressed the audience before Blue Zones Founder and CEO Dan Buettner delivered his keynote presentation (which was also streamed to an overflow room and to an outdoor large screen television in the Kid’s Area.) The packed house enjoyed stories of Dan’s travels as they learned about longevity and Blue Zones principles. In fact, they enjoyed him so much they gave Dan a standing ovation!
With attendance measured at close to 1200, and with 450 pledges collected as well as 125 attendees indicating interest in forming Moai groups, Southwest Florida is off to a running start. Work will continue over the next 8 years with home owner associations, faith-based organizations, worksites, schools, grocery stores, restaurants, as well as with community leaders, neighbors and friends to help make the healthy choice the easy choice in Southwest Florida; working towards the goal of becoming a Blue Zones certified community.
Thank you to our community leaders, volunteers, and organizations who worked so hard to make our kickoff a great success. Thank you also to NCH Healthcare System for bringing the Blue Zones Project to Southwest Florida, helping us to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Event photos can be seen on our Blue Zones Project Southwest Florida Facebook page.
