By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman
FERNDALE – On Saturday, March 11, Affirmations Lesbian and Gay Community Center will hold its first-ever holistic health fair, featuring practitioners of traditional arts like Herbal Therapy and Yoga alongside Aromatherapists, Craniosacral Therapists, and more.
The fair is a result of both community interest and a lack of space at Affirmations' current facility, said Health Services Coordinator Deirdre Shires.
"Last year we just had our regular health fair that included a few holistic practitioners," she said. "But we don't have a lot of room here, so it just made sense to divide it into two separate days."
On April 22, Affirmations will hold its fourth annual Project Healthy Living health fair, which will feature Western allopathic practitioners, frequently referred to as traditional medicine.
"We have a lot of people in the community that are interested in this," Shires said of the holistic fair and of more traditional modalities in general.
Practitioners will include Jaye Spiro of Ferndale's Center for the Physical Arts, Roger Baut of Through the Gate Reiki, and Kerrie McMillen, who will be offering massage.
Fair participants will be able to learn about modalities including Craniosacral Therapy, which works with the alignment of the bones in the skull; Reiki, which translated from the Japanese means "Divine Energy" and is a form of energy healing; the benefits of vitamins and herbs for overall health, and others as well. Detroit Cathedral Bookshop will provide healthy reading. Karma Tea + Tonics will sponsor the event's Tea Lounge.
