Mt. Airy Holistic Health Fair May 20

by 
Elise Rivers, for the Shuttle

Did you know there are more than 19 alternative health care providers in 12 unique practices located between Gorgas Lane and Pelham Road? I was surprised when I realized the density of providers in these few blocks, and that made me wonder, how many other health-care providers are hidden away in our wonderful Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood?

Mt. Airy is known for its counterculture orientation, which includes the conscious integration and acceptance of diversity, a passion for sustainably produced food from Weavers Way and, as it turns out, a vast array of alternative health-care providers ready to support those who seek ways to address their health-care challenges instead of, or in addition to, what is offered by Western medicine. The next logical step was to find an effective way to let the neighborhood know what we do and how you can find us. And so the idea for organizing Mt. Airy’s Holistic Health Day was born.

Mt. Airy’s Holistic Health Fair will be held on Saturday, May 20, from 1 to 5 p.m. on Germantown Avenue between Carpenter Lane and Pelham Road.

I approached Mt. Airy USA to ask their help in creating this novel event for the neighborhood and they wholeheartedly lent their support. A street fair with this theme is in keeping with MAUSA's mission of preserving, empowering and advancing a vibrant and diverse Mt. Airy by stimulating development responsive to the community’s needs, and this includes business district revitalization. With the help of Mt. Airy USA's staff, we are taking care of all the details to make this exciting event happen.

Many practitioners are stepping up for the work that needs to be done. Wendy Romig, of Sage Integrative Health, polled the members of the Weavers Way Health & Wellness Committee to organize panel discussions with the topics "Stress Management," "Family Wellness" and "Healthy Aging." We'll have kids’ activities such as yoga, as well as demonstrations by various providers about the work they do. And no street fair is complete without . . . food! In this case plant-based food, and we'll have plenty of healthy offerings from local providers. 

Need more reasons to come to the fair? How about picking up your FREE Northwest Holistic Health Coupon Book? We’ll have 500 of these to hand out, full of discounts on services you’ll love that will support your health and wellness throughout the year.

Wondering who will be at the fair? Bodyworkers, herbalists, naturopathy practitioners, essential-oil experts, acupuncturists, yoga studios, chiropractors, holistic skin-care professionals — and more! 

Please join us to celebrate the vision that there are many ways to heal, and many modalities that support our bodies to do what they normally do miraculously well: self-healing!

Elise Rivers, Esq., M.Ac. is the owner of Philadelphia’s first sliding-scale acupuncture office, Community Acupuncture of Mt. Airy & Wellness Center, 6782 Germantown Ave. For info: CAMAcenter.com.