Blue Zones Project helps communities across the country make the healthy choice the easy choice. We’re organizing dozens of opportunities for local residents to learn more, get moving and connect with each other and Blue Zones Project – both virtually and in-person. Explore and register for our free events below!
WANT TO DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW?
Visit our exciting virtual Cooking Classes page! Enjoy following along with professional chefs, nutritionists, and friends as they make healthy and delicious meals - today!
Free Online Meditation Class for Annual Meditation Day! With Christel Joy Johnson, May 19, 7 - 8p.m.
Christel Joy Johnson is a seasoned E-RYT 500 yoga and meditation instructor who works with all populations. Her down-to-earth approach makes her classes accessible to everyone and her kind spirit makes everyone feel welcome.
There are way too many studies out with modern science backing up what the ancients have known all along... Mindfulness Meditation is good for you. It’s better than good for you...as Tony the Tiger might say, ”It’s GRRRRRREAT!” But let’s be honest - it can be intimidating. Whether you have a hard time sitting still, think you suck at meditation, are scared at what you might find if you turn inward, have a meditation practice already, or have never touched it…. this one is for you. Join us to learn techniques to rewire your brain for your health!
Online Purpose Workshop, Find your Why! May 24, 6 - 8 p.m.
Your purpose matters. People with purpose are happier, more successful, and live longer - nearly seven years longer!
With purpose, you can also do more with less. That means cramming fewer activities into your already overcrowded schedule - less stress to “get it all done," more breathing room, and more time to focus on what matters most.
We’ll help you pinpoint your purpose and find your why.
JOIN OUR FREE AND INTERACTIVE PURPOSE WORKSHOP.
It’s fun. Enlightening. Life lengthening. Life changing.
Cooking Class with George and Ana, College Place Farmer's Market, May 26, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Join husband and wife cooking team, George Perez and Ana Gutti, to make delicious plant-based food! Their recipes are always delicious and they explain why the ingredients are good for your, how they can improve your health, and what makes them so tasty. They also use local, low-cost food so their recipes are always fresh and affordable.
Come to the College Place Farmer's Market, enjoy our free cooking class, and purchase fresh ingredients from local farmers and vendors!
The class is free and open to the public and will be taught in both Spanish and English.
Mental Health First Aid Training, Free Lunch, Walla Walla Police Station, May, 27, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help.
Topics Covered:
Mental Health First Aid teaches about recovery and resiliency – the belief that individuals experiencing these challenges can and do get better, and use their strengths to stay well.
FREE LUNCH INCLUDED.
Free Water Walking Group -
Saturdays, June 4 - August 6,
8 - 8:45 a.m., Memorial Pool
Stay cool this summer and join our Free, 10-week, Water Walking Moai!
A moai is a group of people coming together for a like purpose - like water walking.
Walking in water is an excellent cardio and resistance training exercise option. It can help strengthen and tone many muscle groups, while burning calories and being gentle on your bones and joints.
AND, walking with a group is a great way to make new friends and catch up with old ones.
Joining our water walking group is a great way to stay physically and mentally healthy this summer.
Free Water Walking Group -
Sundays, June 5 - August 7,
8 - 8:45 a.m., Memorial Pool
Stay cool this summer and join our Free, 10-week, Water Walking Moai!
A moai is a group of people coming together for a like purpose - like water walking.
Walking in water is an excellent cardio and resistance training exercise option. It can help strengthen and tone many muscle groups, while burning calories and being gentle on your bones and joints.
AND, walking with a group is a great way to make new friends and catch up with old ones.
Joining our water walking group is a great way to stay physically and mentally healthy this summer.
Cooking Class and Potluck, June 5, 5 - 7 p.m., Destination Community Fitness, 16 East Poplar St.
Enjoy a plant-based cooking class and potluck dinner with friends! Blue Zones Project will provide the class and the food, you provide the fun and great conversation!
After this class, you can sign up to belong to a Potluck Moai (group)! You will meet a few times over the summer to share and eat your own plant-based and healthy recipes with your group.
This event is free and open to the public - bring a friend!
Exercise with Destination Community Fitness in Washington Park! 700 West Cherry St., T/Th, 6/7 - 6/30, 6 -7 p.m.
Join the upbeat and encouraging instructors from local gym, Destination Community Fitness, in Washington Park for FREE fitness classes!
We will meet T/Th each week starting June 7th and ending June 30th from 6 - 7 p.m. 8 classes total!
You can exercise at your own pace. No pressure - just progress. Please bring water to each class and wear sunscreen.
Kids can play in the park or the splash pad while you workout!
Farmer's Market Cooking Class with Blue Zones Project, June 16, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Lion's Park, College Place
There’s nothing like enjoying homemade fruit popsicles on a hot day. The problem with the store-bought kind is that they typically contain high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors. Not these - created by Jessica Gavin, culinary scientist! All her popsicle recipes are 100 calories or less and made with only natural sweeteners!
Warm weather means beautiful ripe fruit starts to appear at the local market. With so many choices we will make four recipe variations.
VOLUNTEER, Distribute Food Boxes to Seniors, June 23, 1 - 4 p.m., BMAC Food Bank, 921 W. Cherry St.
Volunteer with us to load boxes of food for seniors into their cars. You should be able to lift 10 - 20 lbs easily.
The time passes quickly and we have a lot of fun! It's a great way to serve your community and ensure no one goes hungry.
Free Community Pool Party! June 25, 7 - 9 p.m., Memorial Pool
School's out for summer and Blue Zones Project needs your help to make a splash at our Free Community Pool Party!
We will have games, prizes, raffle items, snacks and more!
Come join us and dive right in!
Farmer's Market Cooking Class with Chef Gary Asmus, June 30, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Lion's Park, College Place
Chef Gary Asmus has a wide array of culinary experience. He graduated from the California Culinary Academy and has worked many places as a chef including: Wolfgang Puck Catering, large hotels and businesses, and was the Executive Chef for Remlinger Farms. He is currently a chef and owner at Personal Chef Service right here in the Walla Walla Valley.
Gary will grill marinated tofu and chicken, create a beautiful salad from local ingredients , and surprise us with a cool and delicious dessert.
Please join us and bring a friend - all those who register ahead for the class will receive a free Blue Zones Project gift.
Free Jazzercise Classes in Washington Park! 700 West Cherry St., T/Th, 7/5 - 7/28, 6 - 7 p.m.
Join Janet Byerley for 4 weeks of free Jazzercise classes in the park, July 5 - 28, T/Th , 6-7 p.m.
Burn up to 600 calories in one fun and powerfully effective 60-minute total body workout. Every Jazzercise group fitness class combines dance-based cardio with strength training and stretching to sculpt, tone and lengthen muscles. Choreographed to today's hottest music, Jazzercise is a fusion of jazz dance, resistance training, Pilates, yoga, and kickboxing. Start dancing yourself fit!
These classes are free and open to the public.
Free Outdoor Movie Night, Sonic the Hedgehog, July 9, 7:30, Lions Park, College Place
Enjoy a free, family-friendly movie at Lion's Park! Come early and have a picnic, get dinner at the food truck, play on the swings - then watch Sonic the Hedgehog!
Powered with incredible speed, Sonic The Hedgehog, aka The Blue Blur, embraces his new home on Earth. That is, until he accidentally knocks out the power grid and sparks the attention of super-uncool evil genius Dr. Robotnik. Now it's super-villain vs. super-sonic in an all-out race across the globe to stop Robotnik from using Sonic's unique power for world domination. Sonic teams up with The Donut Lord, aka Sheriff Tom Wachowski, to save the planet in this live-action adventure comedy. Rated PG, 9 minutes.
Sponsored by Blue Zones Project Walla Walla Valley and City of College Place.
Farmer's Market Cooking Class with Chef Heidi McFarley, July 14, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Lion's Park, College Place
Chef Heidi McFarley, owner and founder of Red Reina Cuisine, will be showing us how to prepare 3 summer soups: Red Tomato Gazpacho, Green Cucumber Gazpacho, and Cold Melon Soup.
Heidi is passionate about kids, cooking, local farms and produce. She has done a lot of work within the school systems to support healthy eating and serves on the Blue Zones Project Food Policy Committee.
Those who register ahead will receive a free gift from Blue Zones Project.
VOLUNTEER, Distribute Food Boxes to Seniors, July 21, 1 - 4 p.m., BMAC Food Bank, 921 W. Cherry St.
Volunteer with us to load boxes of food for seniors into their cars. You should be able to lift 10 - 20 lbs easily.
The time passes quickly and we have a lot of fun! It's a great way to serve your community and ensure no one goes hungry.
Farmer's Market Cooking Class with Wholistic Nutrition Practitioner, Bert Day, July 28, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Lion's Park, College Place
Join Wholistic Nutrition and Certified Gluten-Free Practitioner, Bert Day as she teaches us how to make a beautiful and delicious kale salad and a summer bean soup!
Bert has spent the last ten plus years learning about nutrition, essential oils, and the ingredients (disrupting chemicals) in so many of our everyday conveniences. She's learned better ways to nourish the body through both food and what she puts on my body.
Those who register ahead will receive a free gift from Blue Zones Project.
Free Outdoor Movie Night, Sing 2, July 30, 7:30, Lions Park, College Place
Enjoy a free, family-friendly movie at Lion's Park! Come early and have a picnic, get dinner at the food truck, play on the swings - then watch Sing 2!
Theater owner Buster Moon sets his sights on producing a brand-new musical with his troupe in the glamorous Redshore City. To gain the support of a ruthless music mogul, he pitches that he'll feature Clay Calloway, a legendary but elusive rock singer as part of the show. Now, all the group needs to do is find the recluse and persuade him to perform with them. Rated PG, 112 minutes.
Sponsored by Blue Zones Project Walla Walla Valley and City of College Place.
Free ZUMBA Classes by the YMCA in Washington Park! 700 West Cherry St., T/Th, 8/2 - 8/25, 6 - 7 p.m.
Brought back by popular demand, join Paula Nichols for 4 weeks of free Zumba classes in the park, August 2 - 25, T/Th , 6-7 p.m.
Zumba® is a Latin-inspired, dance, fitness class that incorporates Latin and international music and dance moves. The routines feature interval style training with a combination of fast and slow rhythms that keep you moving to the beat! No dance experience necessary. Come ready to shake it!
Free Outdoor Movie Night, Space Jam: A New Legacy, August 6, 7:30, Lions Park, College Place
Enjoy a free, family-friendly movie at Lion's Park! Come early and have a picnic, get dinner at the food truck, play on the swings - then watch Space Jam: A New Legacy!
NBA athlete LeBron James forges an unlikely friendship with the Looney Tunes to overcome the shady Goon Squad basketball team after being trapped in a computer simulation of a basketball league by a nefarious artificial intelligence. Rated PG, 115 minutes.
Sponsored by Blue Zones Project Walla Walla Valley and City of College Place.
VOLUNTEER, Distribute Food Boxes to Seniors, August 18, 1 - 4 p.m., BMAC Food Bank, 921 W. Cherry St.
Volunteer with us to load boxes of food for seniors into their cars. You should be able to lift 10 - 20 lbs easily.
The time passes quickly and we have a lot of fun! It's a great way to serve your community and ensure no one goes hungry.
Free Outdoor Movie Night, Raya and the Last Dragon, August 20, 7:30, Lions Park, College Place
Enjoy a free, family-friendly movie at Lion's Park! Come early and have a picnic, get dinner at the food truck, play on the swings - then watch Raya and the Last Dragon!
Kumandra is a place where humans and dragons peacefully coexist. When sinister monsters called the Druun threaten the community, however, the dragons readily make a sacrifice to save the human race. Hundreds of years later, the same threat returns. It is up to Raya, a lone warrior, to stop them once and for all. She tracks down the last dragon alive. But as she embarks on her journey, she realizes that it will take more than a dragon and its magic to save her world. Rated PG, 114 minutes.
Sponsored by Blue Zones Project Walla Walla Valley and City of College Place.
Farmer's Market Cooking Class with Wholistic Nutrition Practitioner, Bert Day, August 25, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Lion's Park, College Place
Join Wholistic Nutrition and Certified Gluten-Free Practitioner, Bert Day as she teaches us how to make carrot top pesto, beet salad, and gluten-free crackers!
Bert has spent the last ten plus years learning about nutrition, essential oils, and the ingredients (disrupting chemicals) in so many of our everyday conveniences. She's learned better ways to nourish the body through both food and what she puts on my body.
Those who register ahead will receive a free gift from Blue Zones Project.
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