The first annual Spring Wellness Extravaganza takes place today on the Quad. Hosted by Cowell Student Health Center’s Health Education and Promotion, in conjunction with the East Quad Farmer’s Market, the event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and be accompanied by 14 other campus organizations.
“The whole carnival is about bringing together a bunch of different organizations on campus to show that there are services that provide wellness,” said Ashley Rubio, co-coordinator of the event and student assistant at the health center. “Students wouldn’t necessarily think of some of these places that way, so we’re trying to bring it to their attention.”
TAPS, Campus Recreation, Intramural Sports, Sports Club, the Craft Center and the Women’s Center are just some of the groups that highlight the afternoon on the Quad.
Each different organization will bring their own games, said Rubio, while the Health Education Promotion will be providing some of their own.
“We’ll have our personal games out there, like ‘Name that Emotion’ and some new ones for this event. The basic point of the games is for the 14 groups out there to show students their services in an enjoyable way and let them know that they can enhance their wellness,” she said.
Daniel Coronado, a student supervisor at CSHC and Rubio’s co-coordinator for the event, said Health Education Promotion has some big plans.
“Things we’re really plugging for the carnival are the free five-minute massages, jousting and a mindful walk among others.”
The five-minute massage is a student favorite, he added.
“Last time we offered free five-minute massages, we had an hour-and-a-half-long wait only 15 minutes after opening the event, so we definitely expect to draw some people,” Coronado said.
Rubio said that although this is the first year they have held this event, they have high hopes for it.
“In the past, we’ve always done Wellness Week, but we wanted to do a big event also,” she said. “This is a little bit different, but we want to show that we have a great range in the type of events we can put together and look forward to putting this Extravaganza on display.”
The carnival also includes a free raffle that students are automatically entered in after they have visited the Wellness stations. Once their card has been marked off that they’ve attended each one, they’re entered in a drawing for free prizes.
“The raffle includes anything from free t-shirts to Mondavi Center tickets, gift cards to Save Mart, the Coho, Starbucks, even a Fleet Feet Package – definitely useful things for students,” Coronado said.
Health Education Promotion will also be giving out their customary wellness buttons, water bottles, party cups and more with the goal of promoting safety and wellness.
Rubio said they’re optimistic about getting a lot of people out to stop by on a nice May day on the Quad.
“We’re hoping to get people to drop by, or stay for a while,” she said. “More than 220 have said they’re attending on Facebook, but we certainly expect more than that.”
Coronado also noted the abundance of wellness events on the Quad.
“With the Sustainability Fair and the Farmer’s Market which we’re also involved with, it’s going to be a big day on the Quad. Hopefully we’ll do each other favors and send people over to each other’s events,” he said.
First-year genetics major Adele Shi said she would try to stop by.
“I work at the Coho and have a bunch of classes on Wednesday, so I could definitely use a five-minute massage,” she said.
Students can check the Facebook.com event “Spring Wellness Extravaganza” or join the group “UCD Wellness” to learn more.
MIKE DORSEY can be reached at campus@californiaaggie.com.XXX
