TRADITIONAL: Chloe Jones, Shakeela Williams and Celestine Hampton from Dance and Didj at the Shoalhaven Women’s Wellness Festival on Friday.
A DAY focused on health and wellbeing greeted visitors to the second Shoalhaven Women’s Wellness Festival on Friday.
The Lady Denman Heritage Complex was a hive of activity as women, as well as some men and children, enjoyed the stalls, workshops and entertainment on offer.
Aunty Gail Wallace officially kicked off the day with a Welcome to Country, which was followed by 11 free health and wellness workshops in fitness, pole dancing, art therapy, meditation, yoga, mental health, make up, facial care, disaster preparation and choral singing.
Tina Broad, well known for her role as song writer, vocal arranger and member of the all-women uke group, Chooks on a Hot Tin Roof, facilitated a two hour choir workshop, which proved popular.
During workshops, Koori dancers from Vincentia High School performed, as did Huskisson Public School choir and women’s choir Verdant Voices.
Keynote speaker naturopath Ingrid Gilmour drew an interested crowd for her talk at 4.30pm on nurturing and nourishing families.
Ms Gilmour spoke passionately on food and its ability to be either medicine or poison to the body.
From 5pm, workshops wrapped up and evening entertainment began.
The audience enjoyed performances from soul singer and songwriter Justine Eltakchi, tribal belly dancer Jasmine Langton, eccentric trio Juanitas and colourful troup Ruido Flamenco.
Festival committee member Renae Richardson shaved her hair off for the Leukemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave during the festival.
• More photos from this event appear on page 9.