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lockportlegend.com news
the Lockport Legend | January 24, 2019 | 7
Contests
Blank heart, big potential, lonely — looking for a match
Wanted: Valentine’s
Day Coloring Contest
entries by Feb. 7
Bill Jones, Managing Editor
Big, paper heart on Lock
portLegend.com, ready
for download. Looking for
someone who can fill it with
color and love before Feb. 7.
Nothing long-term. Planning
to meet up with a veteran
soon.
Interested parties should
read the rules below.
Yes, this is just another
goofy way to remind you
that 22nd Century Media’s
Valentine’s Day Coloring
Contest is back. Every year,
we provide a blank heart and
children get creative. A few
lucky entrants win prizes,
and even more get to see
their work in print.
The Legend is asking children
ages 3-12 to download
the form (maybe with some
help) from the home page of
LockportLegend.com to create
just one outstanding valentine
per entrant and send it
our way.
Entries must be mailed to
or dropped off at 22nd Century
Media Southwest Chicago
c/o Editor Max Lapthorne,
11516 W. 183rd St.,
Unit SW Office Condo #3,
Orland Park, IL, 60467.
The deadline to submit entries
is 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb.
7. Publisher 22nd Century
Media’s Southwest Chicago
staff will review all entries
and select winners in each
of three age groups — ages
3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. The winning
entries are to be published
in The Legend’s Feb.
14 edition, along with other
favorites, at the editor’s discretion.
For this year’s contest, we
will be picking one winner in
each age group from Lockport.
The winner in the ages
3-5 category is to receive a
$5 gift certificate to Whizzy
Puffs Sweet Spot, and the
winners in the 6-8 and 9-12
categories are to receive $5
gift cards to Diamond’s Restaurant.
Winners will be chosen
based on creativity and
neatness. Entries must use
and fit on the form provided.
As in past years, 22nd
Century Media Southwest
Chicago is to team up with
an area organization to help
distribute the finished valentines
— minus the entry
form information — to nearby
veterans.
For more information,
call (708) 326-9170 ext.
20 or email bill@opprairie.
com.
Overall wellness highlighted by 22nd Century Media’s Healthy Living Expo
Laurie Fanelli
Freelance Reporter
A new year often produces
a renewed dedication to
health and wellness, but it
can be hard to know whereto
start.
What type of exercise is
best for reaching individual
goals? What are the pros
and cons to different diets?
How does one incorporate
preventative medicine into a
wellness regimen?
Answers to these questions
and more were found at
22nd Century Media’s annual
Healthy Living Expo, held
Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Tinley
Park Convention Center.
Along with having the
opportunity to chat with 68
health and wellness vendors
— up almost 20 from 2018
— expo-goers also enjoyed
speaker sessions, cooking
demos and workout sessions.
Heather Warthen, chief
events officer for 22nd Century
Media explained that
the expo offered wellness
tips and techniques for anyone
and everyone.
“We bring in a variety of
vendors, from travel and insurance
to mental wellness,”
she said. “We’ve got yoga
places. We’ve got fitness
places. There’s definitely
something here for everybody.
It’s painting a different
picture for people on what
health and wellness looks
like for all aspects of life.”
VitaLife, of New Lenox,
was on hand highlighting
how a healthy body and
mind go hand in hand.
“Our push is to be healthy
weight-wise, but we focus
on the person as a whole,”
explained health coach Esther
Estela. “Weight is just
one aspect. In turn, we also
help people change their
mindsets to have a healthy
lifestyle in every aspect of
their life.”
Fit4Mom franchise owners
Mandy Dunne, Michelle
Marinello and Camilla Emmerick
empowered expo-goers
to make fitness a family
affair.
“We start with stroller
strides,so mom brings the
kids, and they sit in the stroller
for a 60-minute class,”
Emmerick said. “The instructors
blow bubbles,sing
songs and read books, and
the kids get to see their
moms working out, which I
think is the best part.”
Another fun fitness opportunity
found at the 2019
Greenridge Farm Sales Director Bobby Ruhaak offers
samples to John Trickle, of Tinley Park, on Saturday, Jan.
19, during 22nd Century Media’s Healthy Living Expo. Laurie
Fanelli/22nd CenturyMedia
Healthy Living Expo was
with Tinley Park’s Heart
&Sole Dance. Monica
Smaniotto, operations manager,
explained how dance
benefits the body, mind and
spirit.
“Dance is great not only
physically, but mentally, as
well,” she said. “A lot of
our older clients will come
in and tell us it helps their
memory. From there, physically,
you don’t really realized
that you’re exercising.
So we have people who
come in for lessons, and
they’ll be dripping sweat
when they’re leaving.”
Those looking for an athletic
approach gravitated
toward fitness studio ChuloFit,
which offers personal
and group training, as well
as classes.
Owner Lamont Doyle
said, “ChuloFit is a fitness
studio where we make
people feel comfortable. We
come up with innovative
workouts while providing a
great community.”
Winter weather may have
deterred some people from
venturing out, but those who
attended were able to sample
from the fitness buffet at the
convention center. Kathy
Lawlor, of Oak Forest, and
her husband, Mike, were
especially interested in the
cooking demonstrations.
“It’s a new year — new
healthy living — so I’m getting
some ideas on how to
eat better and stay healthy,”
Kathy Lawlor said.
Along with the cooking
demos, healthy eating tips
could be found from expo
vendors, including Hacked
Snacks, Smoothie King and
Greenridge Farm, the last
of which is a small, familyowned
company based out
of Elk Grove.
Greenridge Farm Sales
Director Bobby Ruhaak explained
how the company
went back to basics to offer
its customers a natural line
of deli goods.
“We take pride in our products,”
Ruhaak said. “We do
everything all naturally, so
we use whole muscle meat,
tumble it in natural spices,
and roast it or smoke it. Everything
is done the way it
used to be done before all the
chemicals were introduced,
and we don’t add any nitrates,
nitrites or binders.”
As many people look to
the new year as a time to
strive for new goals, so does
the fitness industry. Danni
Allen — Planet Fitness director
of health, wellness
and member engagement in
Cook County — said there
is a lot more in store in the
coming months.
“There’s a lot of things to
be excited about in 2019, especially
with Planet Fitness,”
Allen said. “We’ve brought
out a lot of new equipment,
like the PF360, which has
kettlebells, battle ropes and
more fun, functional fitness
types of things. At the same
time, we’re doing everything
we can to go beyond the four
doors of Planet Fitness, giving
back,donating and working
with the Boys & Girls
Clubs of America, so it’s a
really fun year ahead of us.”
UChicago Medicine,
Trouvaille Med Spa,Chiro
One Wellness Centers and
many more vendors also offered
attendees a wide variety
of healthy living advice
to carry into the new year
and beyond.
“This expo is going to help
me jumpstart my health routine
for the year,” said Christy
Avery, of Oak Forest.
More information about
upcoming 22nd Century
Media Events can be found
atwww.22ndcenturymedia.
com/our-company/events.