On a grassy field, Coppell residents stood in a circle doing calisthenic exercises, led by a fitness trainer. Nearby, visitors eagerly congregated around various booths, advertising everything from herbal tea to hearing screenings.

This had all been part of the Coppell Wellness Expo that happened last Saturday at the Square next to the Farmer Market’s Pavilion in Old Town Coppell. The Expo is an annual event that advertises and encourages healthy activities, choices, and lifestyles for Coppell residents.

The Coppell Wellness Expo is run by Living Well in Coppell, a nonprofit volunteer organization focusing on providing a healthy community environment for citizens, and Working Well in Coppell, a program run by the Coppell Chamber of Commerce that promotes healthy options and businesses available to residents.

More than 35 vendor booths had been at the expo, providing numerous different free services including health screenings, Vitamin B12 shots, individualized fat analysis, cardiopulmonary resuscitation demonstrations, and chair samples.

“Our health screenings are for nerve functions,” Erb Family Wellness Center staffer Kristen Langman said. “Your neck is the only funnel your brain has to the rest of your body. If you experience inflammation, tension, or nerve pinching [in the neck], communication in the brain is stunted.”

Besides the services, hospital and medical center booths also provided information on a number of health problems or health benefits of certain products, handing out pamphlets, pens, and decals, displaying diagrams of the human body, and offering raffle prizes for free health products.

“I am promoting prevention of esophageal cancer,” Integrity Wellness Center Director of Business Development Michelle Dalton said. “My husband has it. His cancer was already in the advanced stage when they caught it. But we’re saving lives.”

Various booths also provided sample, such as granola bars or organic quesadillas, so visitors could try out the products for themselves. This had been both an advertising strategy and a method of encouraging people to eat healthier.

“[Providing tea samples] just helps people to test the flavors,” Tea2Go co-owner Dawn Truesdell said. “Tea’s medicinal. People just need something in their lives to help them feel better. We educate people about [the medicinal properties], and they educate other people.”

In addition to the booths, there had also been live demonstrations and group participation sessions for activities such as fitness programs, mini boot camps, meditation/yoga, exercise sessions, and soccer drills, letting residents experience the beneficial health effects of these recreations for themselves.

“We get together and do high-intensity, energetic stations,” Steadfast Fitness owner and trainer Isaiah Stanback said. “Anybody can do it, all age groups, all injuries. If it is above your fitness level, we simply swap out the exercises.”

Overall, the Expo taught Coppell residents about the healthy lifestyle options and services offered to them by businesses and medical centers in the city, helping promote the overall physical health of the community.