Big turnout at Health and Wellness Expo

Clockwise from top left: Dana Tremblay displays job opportunities available at B.C. Ferries. Pierre Boucher of the CFB Esquimalt Model Railway Club gets his locomotives on track. Trevor Ball of Fort Street Cycle shows off a bike. Patrons line up at the Deadbeetz food truck for a free lunch. Karl Schneider, Registered Massage Therapist at The Spa at Delta Ocean Pointe Resort, gives a massage. Photos by Peter Mallett, Lookout

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

Over 120 businesses and community organizations plotted a course for fun and information at the Naden Athletic Centre Feb. 15 at this year’s MARPAC Health and Wellness Expo.

Over 1,000 military and DND civilian employees attended this year’s expo held in the upper and lower gymnasium of the sports complex. The annual event features interactive display booths by local non-profits and businesses representing health and wellness, recreation, sports, fitness, outdoor activities, schools and base clubs.

One popular feature of the expo were the door prizes offered up by vendors along with the delicious free food samples available to patrons. The first 500 visitors received vouchers for complimentary lunch, courtesy the PSP sponsorship program, for food trucks Deadbeetz and Mai Mai’s Bistro. 

Those not lucky enough to get their hands on a food voucher could still sate their appetites as Hertels Meats were on hand frying up side and back bacon samples, while Esquimalt’s Melting Moments Catering were offering up sample pasta and desserts, and Serious Coffee provided free coffee and tea to visitors.

For those with an appetite for travel they could enter WestJet airlines’ free draw to win a trip to any of its destinations in Canada. This year’s winner was AB Brett Melchior of HMCS Winnipeg.