On Nov. 13 Prince George residents are urged to put on their healthy face and join A Healthier You Expo and Forum, Promoting Healthy Living Across Cultures, hosted by The Citizen, Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society and Prince George Valemount MLA, Shirley Bond.
Three well-known health experts in B.C. will share their life-stories during the one-day free event.
Dr. Art Hister, a keynote speaker from Vancouver will step up at 11:20 a.m. with his simple guide to a longer, healthier and happier life.
"My presentation will be about how people can live longer and healthier, sleep better, eat better, and have more energy.
"It all comes down to a health formula that people can adjust to suit their own needs. No one formula works for all," said Hister from his home in Vancouver.
He said the information he shares as a health analyst, columnist and author is often information that scares people, so he tells a lot of jokes - some good, some bad - to try to reduce people's fears of health information.
I tell them they need not be scared even if the news is bad because we can deal with it, and they also feel more armed when they go to see their own doctor. So my work is fun, it's passionate, and it's educational.
Hister has only been to Prince George once as a luncheon guest speaker, and is "really happy" to be coming to Health Expo courtesy of London Drugs.
Para-Olympian snowboard champion, Tyler Mosher of Whistler will take the stage at 1 p.m. to share his medical miracle. Mosher, who's coming on behalf of ActNow BC program, suffered a spinal cord injury in 2000 while snowboarding, paralyzing him from the waist down, but he has learned to walk again.
"I can walk and cross-country ski, but I can't run or jump," said Mosher who's categorized as an incomplete paraplegic, being 40-per-cent paralyzed from the waist down.
The 2009 world champion para-snowboarder will explain how good nutrition and exercise continues to keep him out of a wheelchair and hospital.
"It's all about food choices and passive exercises, like choosing an apple over a chocolate bar and taking the stairs instead of the elevator," said Mosher.
Mosher is a former tree planter in Prince George and married a girl who graduated high school here.
Olympian and World Cup freestyle skier, Sylvia Kerfoot, will join Mosher on main stage, and speak at 1:30 p.m.
Kerfoot, coming here courtesy of the RBC Olympic Program, said she's "real excited to be able to share her national ski team experiences over the past 15 years."
"I'll be talking about my dreams and goals and how a healthy lifestyle is important for an athlete," said Kerfoot. She is especially interested in Prince George hosting the 2015 Canada Winter Games despite the fact she is not eligible to compete due to her national team status.
Bond, who will act as hostess for the fourth year, said, "Healthy living starts with making the right choices and attending the Healthier You Expo is a great way to learn about how you and your family can start making those choices."
The one-day forum, offering further speakers, exhibits, demonstrations, activities and break-out sessions is on from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Civic Centre. It's free to all.
See the ad in today's Citizen for the Expo agenda and the special Healthier You Expo in next Wednesday's Citizen.
