Knoxvillians will get the chance to enjoy a free outdoor event with giveaways and plenty of activities at the fourth annual Knoxville Let’s Move! Event held on Saturday, May 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Victor Ashe Park, 4901 Bradshaw Road.
The event is free to the public and will feature more than 90 nutrition and activity stations aimed at getting families eating healthier and moving more.
Families can use an adventure map to guide them along a trail of 91 activity stations, including water games, recipe demonstrations, seed planting, healthy food choice sampling, and other sports and games. At Let’s Move!, families will use “Walk with Walgreens” pedometers to measure the number of steps taken that day while they participate in activities and receive free giveaways, such as free tomato plants provided by The Home Depot.
“As we continue to find new ways to get everyone active and eating healthy, Knoxville’s Let’s Move! Event provides an opportunity for families to find something that works best for them,” said Joe Walsh, Director of Knoxville Parks and Recreation. “The level of collaboration within our community to put forth this family-oriented event never ceases to amaze me, even in our fourth year.”
There will also be a “demo stage” where various groups will give demonstrations. Additionally, students will lead a Let’s Move! Flash Mob on stage at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The local Let’s Move! Event is part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s national campaign to fight childhood obesity.
In 2013, the City of Knoxville and Knox County received national recognition for their collaborative efforts to improve the health of Knoxville area youth. The National League of Cities ranked both municipalities first in the nation for completion of key health and wellness goals for “Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties,” a rank that both the City of Knoxville and Knox County proudly hold to date.
The Let’s Move! Event was originally started through Knox County Schools Coordinated School Health and City of Knoxville Parks and Recreation.
As a Knox County Schools celebration of the Let’s Move! Event, students at South Knoxville Elementary will be creating a human version of the MyPlate diagram for an aerial photo at noon on Friday, May 1. MyPlate has replaced the Food Pyramid as a national education tool for a balanced, healthy diet. The students will wear color-coordinated shirts to represent the food groups on a healthy plate.
Community organizers of the Knoxville Let’s Move! Event include City of Knoxville Parks and Recreation, Knox County Schools, Walmart, The Home Depot, Walgreens, Subway, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Obesity Coalition, Knox County Health Department, Knox County Parks and Recreation, Pellissippi State Community College, TENNderCare, UT Extension, UT Department of Nutrition, Great Schools Partnership, Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley, UT Athletics, Beaver Ridge United Methodist Preschool, and the Emerald Youth Foundation.
Sponsors of the Let’s Move! Event include Walmart, The Home Depot, Walgreens, Subway, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Community Trust, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital Obesity Coalition, and Aubrey’s.
For more information on the Let’s Move! Event, visit www.LetsMoveKnox.com, call the Knoxville Parks and Recreation office at 865-215-2091 or email Kathleen Gibi at kgibi@cityofknoxville.org.
