“If you go to a happy hour and you are drinking alcohol, you might be happy while you are doing it,” said Dr. Consuelo Wilkins, health editor for the St. Louis American. “But we want you to feel happy for a long time afterwards.”
In an effort to help people get healthy as they get happy, the St. Louis American Foundation, Centene Corporation and the Missouri Foundation for Health presented another Healthy Happy Hour a few weeks back at The Space.
Someone walking past the intimate venue located where The Central West End connects with Grand Center wouldn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary about the happy hour – except for the fact that it wasn’t at a bar.
But not only did the Healthy Happy Hour drop the misconception that a good time has to include alcohol, but it was progressive in sneaking in a few nuggets of wisdom on healthy living in between the laughter and line dancing.
“The more you exercise you get those endorphins going,” Wilkins said. “Those endorphins are natural hormones that keep you happy.”
The first Healthy Happy Hour was more of a comprehensive overview of need for African Americans to be proactive in taking control of their health and a launch party for the new, improved and expanded Your Health Matters special section.
But riding on the success of the St. Louis American weight loss challenge and individuals featured in Your Health Matters who won the battle of the bulge, the second (of what will surely be many more to come) centered around the obesity epidemic faced by the nation – the African American community in particular.
“For so long in our communities we have been loving and accepting of everybody, which is great, but we also need to recognize that with those extra pounds comes excess mortality,” Wilkins said. “We want you to know how interested we are in your health and the health of your family. “
Despite a few candid medical facts to stress the importance of maintaining a healthy weight to ensure a long quality life by Wilkins, the event took an upbeat and optimistic approach, including the success story of yours truly to raise awareness to the issue.
“You don’t have to sacrifice flavor to eat healthy,” said caterer Leslie Christian-Wilson, owner of Diversity Gallery and Culture Café.
Christian-Wilson provided a menu of appetizers that implemented simple, yet effective recipe modifications for dishes that could help curb calories and fat. Nonfat yogurt in the spinach artichoke dip instead of the heavy cheeses and honey versus sugar were just a few tasty examples that she presented.
Guests were still light enough on their feet after generously helping themselves to the healthy buffet (that included fresh fruit, vegetables and non-processed meats) for some stretching and slides by Sunshine a.k.a. Alicia Williams. The dancer/instructor gave her own testimony of a lifelong struggle and ultimate victory with obesity.
When the event came to a close, folks danced out the door on the same upbeat and energetic note as the Healthy Hour began.
“Will there be another one?” seemed to be the question of choice among inquiring minds of the Healthy Happy Hour.
To everyone’s delight, the answer was yes. And they left eager to spread the news about the next opportunity – next week to be exact – to experience a new way to get happy.
The next Healthy Happy Hour will take place on Thursday, August 28th from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. at The Space (320 N. Vandeventer).
