- April 23, 2024
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Some colorful peppers are for sale at the Health and Wellness Expo's farmers market.
Lakewood Ranch's Paige Porter, 18 months, tries to cool down on a hot day with a few ice cubes.
Lakewood Ranch's Rick and Sandy Hahn pick the perfect watermelon.
Rosie McClure, 18, paints her arm between her face painting duties at the Health and Wellness Expo.
Judy Van Duzer, Maureen Burke and Carleen Guardiani represent the Lakewood Ranch Gardening Club.
Maurice Williams, who works with Hawthorne Village, shows Sarasota's Martha Richmond how to use a balance device.
Lakewood Ranch's Amber Petricca and her daughter, Maya, enjoy the face painting booth.
Sarasota's Karrie Betts is having a blast portraying "Super Tooth" for Moricz & Varone Orthodontics.
Panther Ridge's Debbie Hage has a great time with her granddaughter, 2-year-old Alisa Hage.
Amy Bailey, with Brookdale Senior Living Solutions, holds her son Levi Bailey, 11 months, at her booth inside the medical center.
Bradenton's Carrie Dula, with Come Under the Yum Yum Tree, sells fruits and vegetables.
Strawberries, lemons and limes sit under the tent at the farmers market, new to the Health and Wellness Expo this year.
Sarasota's Sofia Jackson, 2, and her mom Andrea Jackson munch on some free snacks at the Health and Wellness Expo.
Lakewood Ranch's Alexa Durkin, 8, trusts Rosie McClure to create a perfect design.
If part of the Health and Wellness Expo's goal on Saturday at the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center was to get people to eat well, it only made sense to add some fresh produce to the festivities.
Kyanne Merrill, the director of event sponsor Lakewood Ranch Community Activities, explained that since the former farmers market along Lakewood Main Street had been dropped, it made sense to add a farmers market to the sixth annual Expo.
Merrill invited the Come Under the Yum Yum Tree fruit store to sell its goods.
"They always have a nice spread," Merrill said.
Hundreds of people browsed through the health and wellness booths inside the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, then visited the farmers market on the lawn. Inside, they picked up many free items along the way and learned about all of the local health resources available.
“I think we had a really good turnout this year,” said Amy Bailey from Brookdale Senior Living Solutions. “The people seem really engaged with the vendors this year, and to me that’s a successful event. The people seem to really want to hear all of this important information.”
