Wellbeing festival heads for Shrewsbury

Children’s activities and celebrity guest speakers are all part of the line-up at the Wellbeing Festival, a free event which will debut in Shrewsbury’s Quarry Park on June 13.

Organisers are putting the finishing touches to a packed programme of attractions which will showcase the best the county has to offer in wellbeing, fitness and nutrition. There will be a series of activities, workshops, national guest speakers, interactive talks and demonstrations throughout the day.

There are also a number of fun activities to inspire youngsters to lead active and healthy lifestyles.

Carrie Hughes and Tom Meehan, from Shropshire’s Pink Pebble Events, have invited a host of inspirational guests - all experts in their field - to Shrewsbury.

Carrie said: “This festival is something new that Shropshire has not seen before. It’s quite different, unique, and tackles so many different areas of interest.

“It will be free to attend, so we are encouraging people to be intrigued about what’s going on in the Quarry, about the different sectors, and how they link and cross over - and to come along and join us.

“The Quarry is an amazing setting and it’s going to be taken over by four marquees for four different sectors. There will be a fitness area with a main stage, and also teepees for yoga along with other different areas for mindfulness.”

Sponsored by local company Broad Environmental the festival will also include a retail village and the opportunity for visitors to buy locally-produced food.

Tom added: “This is something for the town to embrace. The Wellbeing Festival will be an all-encompassing event that opens up the sectors of fitness, wellbeing and nutrition, together with kids and education, to a whole audience of people from around the town and much further afield.

“The idea is to excite, inspire and engage people - and we are delighted with the line-up of guests who will be joining us.

“Nell McAndrew is now an accomplished athlete and has completed the Great North Run and London Marathon a number of times. She will take part in the Shrewsbury Parkrun before conducting a question and answer session in the main marquee about women’s fitness, fitness training and motivation.

“Kristian Thomas, a bronze medalist at the London 2012 Olympics, will also deliver a motivational speech in the main marquee, along with demonstrations and interactive sessions to encourage children of all ages to be active and experience a taste of gymnastics. ”

The fitness sector will include We Are Synthetics, the ultimate 1980s work out experience, which puts the ‘fizz’ back into physical fitness - and there’s a host of other attractions to get involved with.

The festival will also offer signposting to the more local provision of fitness services through to mental health services and nutrition workshops.

Shropshire-based celebrity chef Marcus Bean, who will be joined by some special guests, will head the nutrition sector, hosting a series of demonstrations in the kitchen.

While admission to the festival is free, there are a limited number of VIP tickets, which include food, drink, treats and the opportunity to meet some of the guest speakers, also available to be purchased from wellbeingfestival.co.uk