Non traditional wellness goes back to RVH

It would have been unheard of a few years ago, but today natural remedies and traditional wellness meet hand-in-hand.

That’s sure happening next Saturday, November 9 when the Alladin Banquet Hall on Essa Rd provides the setting for a wellness expo devoted to alternative approaches to healing. Holistic health practitioners of every stripe will offer information through booths, seminars and workshops.

And, all the money raised through the ‘toonie’ admission price is going to Royal Victoria Hospital’s Women’s Imaging Department.

An expo devoted to natural processes and products and proactive approach to good health, this Simcoe County Wellness Expo is the brainchild of two Barrie practitioners. Reiki and Reflexology Master Liane Gallant has teamed up with Homeopathic Practitioner Sylvia Collins to pull together 27 booths and 12 workshops designed to inform and entertain.

From Sylvia Collins you can learn about natural medicines which stimulate the body’s own healing system. From Liane Gallant you will find out that the soles of your feet contain the key to pain relief.

Valerie Samson lets you explore harmony and health through simple placement of objects in home or office. Daphne Duckworth will connect you to yourself through Brain Gym.

Deep tissue massage, toxicity testiing, cranial sacral therapy to release energy from head and neck, hypnosis, arthritis relief, yoga to connect your body with your mind and spirit… these are all topics being showcased at the expo.

Allergy testing, massage therapy, energy healing, vegetarian foods, and essential oils… each a different booth with specialists on hand to discuss their therapies.

You’ll meet herbalist Teridale Lavigne and find out about acupuncture from Sheila Petrachenko. And Bill Shoup will take you through an exercise program of tai chi and stability ball that’s guaranteed to strengthen your physical self.

Workshops for the event begin at 11 am and run every 20 minutes on the half hour until 5 pm.

In terms of exploring wellness options, this new fair promises to squeeze a tremendous amount of learning into a busy space. It all begins at 10 am and runs until 5 pm.

The show has been assembled by two holistic practitioners for two reasons… to showcase the holistic community and raise money for an important department at RVH.

“There are many, many practitioners in Barrie, all with the same professional goal… utilizing the body’s own resources to maximize health. It makes life better for all of us,” says Liane Gallant. She and her show team member Sylvia Collins have put together a wellness directory for the region, copies to be given out at the show.

It’s a non profit event which promises to entertain as well as educate. And it’s sure a pro-active approach, a dose of information that’s pretty easy to swallow.

Thanks, Liane. Thanks, Sylvia.

… and on another note…

…it’s a funny thing, the difference between a headline on a computer monitor and one that’s in print. Last week I shared the marvellous story of Cotty Tribble and his founding of Cotty’s Cleaners.

“Door clicks shut on 56 years of family ownership” I wrote. Made sense to me. All this time of family ownership was coming to an end. Done. However, when I saw the heading in print in last Sunday’s Advance, I thought, “omigosh, it sounds like the place has closed.”

Read again please. Cotty’s Cleaners is alive and well, under new operation. John Tribble is alive and well in his office at the Wellington Plaza. Chris Tribble is launching a new career in a new industry. The business has been sold. The Family Ownership is clicked shut.