Family Fun Day to Raise Family Fitness Awareness

As Americans tumble into a spiral of unhealthy habits and record obesity statistics, Pine Community Center is taking a stand in the fight for health.

They are hosting the first annual Family Fun Day on Sunday, Sept. 29th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event is geared towards families and children ages 3 to 14 and is focused around different fun activities to raise health and physical fitness awareness.

"We want to show children and families that exercise can be fun," said fitness program coordinator Alicia Bercury.

Some of the activities to be held during the event include a family Zumba class, relay races, mother/daughter yoga and a run/walk. Each class will be in a different room so attendees can hop from activity to activity.

Depending on the weather, Bercury would like to have some outdoor events as well. She envisions a fun race through the park, which could easily be moved to the indoor track in case of inclement conditions.

In addition to these events designed to get the family moving, there will also be a variety of healthy snacks for children to eat, nutritional information on common foods and T-shirt, bag and membership giveaways.

Bercury chose to hold this event during September because it is National Childhood Obesity Awareness month.

"We chose that one because of what's going on in America with kids being less and less healthy," she said. "If kids start being active at a young age and it's something built into their lifestyle, it's better. We want to instill those principles now at a younger age and teach the parents as well because they take care of the children."

While this is the first time this event has been held, Bercury said she expects around 50 people to attend and would like to make next year's event even bigger.

"This year we were keeping it on the smaller side and hope that each year it gets a little bit bigger, with more people involved and more stuff going on," she said.

Family Fun Day is free for members of the community center and $10 per family for non-members. 

What are some ways you keep your family fit? Share your response in the comment section below.