by Lisa Brown
5/31/2018

The Holliston Wellness Council and Holliston Agricultural Commission are cosponsoring the first annual Holliston Community Wellness Festival on Saturday June 2, 2018, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Placentino/Miller school complex.

The festival will include:

• Games, crafts, and other fun activities! Get out your energy in relay races and obstacle courses based on the BOKS program which will start up at Miller Elementary during the 2018-2019 school year. Make a craft butterfly and learn about the farm-to-school connection planned by the  Holliston Agricultural Commission, which is working on a butterfly kit for Placentino classrooms so students can learn about the life cycle and then release their butterfly into the aviary.
   
• Petting zoo and planting activities! Plant a seed with the Holliston Community Farm and learn more about potential farm-to-school connections that will be possible once the section of the Rail Trail over the 8 Arch Bridge is finished. This section of the trail connects the Placentino, Miller, and Adams schools to the Holliston Community Farm. The Holliston Agricultural Commission hopes to create close ties to the schools in support of many areas of their curriculum. Ideas for connections include interactive science lessons to enhance the curriculum, as well as having art classes paint the bee hives that some of our local beekeepers place in public spaces.
   
• Information about town family resources for wellness! Learn about some of the resources around town that focus on child and family health. Visit with our Holliston fire fighters and check out one of the engines. Holliston police officers will also be on hand to highlight their role in community wellness. Anyone who has dropped their child off this year at Placentino has probably been greeted by our school resource officer. The Holliston police know that great community relationships are a foundation for community safety, which is vital to community wellness.
   
• Food! Captain Marden’s Seafood Truck will be on site selling local seafood to highlight our push to increase local sourcing of food in our community, including in the schools. We will also be selling make-your-own mason jar salads, which can be a tasty lunch, along with Papa Gino’s pizza, made like the kids get for pizza day! You may not know that Papa Gino’s creates a special whole wheat pizza crust to serve to our kids on school pizza day. This is a great opportunity to grab a slice for lunch and try it out!
   
• In addition to food for sale, there will be a chef running demonstrations of how to cook vegetables in yummy ways so that kids will be excited to eat them. Sponsored by the Holliston Agricultural Commission, this chef will feature local, farm-fresh produce!

The Holliston Wellness Council is a collaboration between the Holliston public schools and community members with expertise in a wide variety of health and wellness specialty areas. The council includes representation from the schools, including the superintendent, teachers, administrators, School Committee members, and the lead school nurse of the district. Students from Holliston High School also serve on the council along with parents, who bring extensive experience and expertise in the areas of mindfulness, physical activity, neuroscience, learning, nutrition, counseling in pediatrics and adolescence, and child development.

Three subcommittees have formed within the Council to address wellness in the areas of social-emotional wellbeing, physical activity, and the nutrition environment of our schools. The Holliston Community Wellness Festival on Saturday June 2nd will highlight some of the work we have been doing, along with community resources focused on promoting family health and wellness.

For more information about the Festival, please email Lisa Brown at lisciacca@hotmail.com, or just show up any time between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 2. For more information about the Wellness Council, email either cochair: Alex Businger at alexandra.businger@gmail.com or Lisa Kocian at KocianL@hsc.holliston.k12.ma.us.