What is the Healthy Living Community Event?
The Healthy Living Community Event is a free day of crafts, healthy choices, and community that is hosted by the Empowerment Factory during the Pawtucket Arts Festival. The day highlights the first walking path in Pawtucket, the “Baldwin Loop”, which includes the community around the Baldwin Elementary School. There is art work, healthy living panels, and more decorations that can be found throughout this walking path.We encourage participants to walk the Baldwin Loop and come back to exercise, participate in crafts, and learn about The Empowerment Factory.
This family event specifically highlights the importance of healthy and positive lifestyles within the community. There are various stations, arts and crafts opportunities, prizes, contests, and even more are also a part of the event. Every year more components are added to excite and bring the community together, while providing more resources & community partners to emphasize healthy living.
~Timeline of Events~
-2017-
The tradition of the annual Healthy Living Community Event began in 2017. The event was called the Community Hero Art Walk and it featured numerous superhero themed stations. There was a superhero costume contest, decorate a superhero cape craft, superhero selfie booth, and a meet and greet with: Batman, the BatMobile, Paws from the PawSox, and other local heroes.
Another key event was the unveiling of the Healthy Living Community Art Murals. The Art Murals were created in collaboration with the students from the Elizabeth Baldwin Elementary School and were funded through a grant received from the City of Pawtucket. The four panels are permanently displayed at Ama’s market and focus on wellness and healthy habits with positive messaging written in both English and Spanish.
Prizes were handed out throughout the event with goodie bags given to the first 50 participants to complete the Baldwin Loop path. Two prize baskets valued over $100 were also presented to winners of the superhero photo contest and raffle.
-2018-
The second Healthy Living Community Event centered around the theme of community. We unveiled the Pollinator Garden at Baldwin Elementary School. The pollinator garden was a collaboration between The City of Pawtucket, Landscape Elements, Unilock and Yardworks. The project was a focal point that enhanced the urban community with natural beauty and demonstrated the importance of interdependence and collaboration. The garden is used for environmental education, inspiring local youth and families to come together to build a better world. The Empowerment Factory maintains the Pollinator Garden with the generous help of community volunteers.
This year the activities included weaving, face painting, coloring, and a fiber art installation. There was storytelling in the garden and a Design XRI garden lecture. There was a Baldwin Loop Scavenger walk.
To add to the list of events, music, and food were another component to the fun. There were drawings for prizes, multiple contests, and there was a poster coloring contest . The first 50 people that checked in received a gift bag. We were able to hand out two new bikes, sneakers, toys, restaurant gift certificates, and many other prizes.
-2019-
The third annual Healthy Living Community Event began with a welcoming ceremony and was a day packed with arts and crafts, games, environmental awareness, and numerous free opportunities. Event participants made jewelry, happiness wands, and created bookmarks. Interactive games included the recycling game, the money game, and BOKS(Build our Kids’ Success) games on the playground, photo booth, music, dance party and a bubble station. In the Pollinator Garden, participants planted trees, while a volunteer hosted storytelling, and participants were further educated on the pollinators of Rhode Island.
The Empowerment Factory provided tips on how to create a happy and healthy life.
“Reading Robots’ ‘ allowed access to free books. The happy metal friends were repurposed newspaper boxes that The Empowerment Factory repurposed into free book stations.The Robots were placed around Pawtucket for people to take books to read and keep. The community was encouraged to check back often. Books are Wings kept them stocked and Bristol County Savings Bank sponsored the project.
There were many prizes, raffles, and contests too. Free ice cream was provided as well as a $1 menu for the first 200 people with tickets. Prizes included bikes, restaurant gift cards, toys, and even more.
-2020-
The fourth Annual was as unique as the circumstances. The Empowerment Factory was tasked with a Community Building Event that needed to keep the community distanced and safe. It was an unbelievable success and we had the best turnout to date.
Instead of having a large event where people would gather in one place TEF designed the Healthy Living Community “ Scavenger Walk” along the 2 mile “Baldwin Loop”. Along the path there were 17 different art installations, these banners were made from student artwork entered into our Creativity Contests. Each banner also had a QR code that took participants to a virtual activity. By walking the path and participating in the activities families were entered to win prizes including a Chromebook donated by COX communications. The first 100 families that registered were given a reusable backpack with lots of fun stuff, snacks and an activity book. Families also participated in our sidewalk chalk drawing contest that day. It was a day of free family fun, exercise and community.
-2021-
The fifth Annual Healthy Living Community Event was a welcome return to the community. The Empowerment Factory unveiled two new community art exhibits the Wishing Tree Installation and the Peace Cranes. Event participants made Kindness Rocks, softball painting, Upcycled Fairy House creation, and peace crane folding. Event participants, also, took part in basketball and hula hoop competitions.
In the Pollinator Garden there was a sidewalk chalk painting contest. There was a scavenger walk around the Baldwin Loop with stations at each of the art exhibits.
The first 100 participants to register were given a goodie bag full to the brim. There were many prizes, raffles, and contests too. Prizes included a chromebook donated by COX Communications, a bicycle donated by , gift cards, toys, and even more.