How to Plan, Promote and Run a Health and Fitness Fair

More and more people are becoming concerned about their health. It’s not just about dieting anymore. People want to make healthy lifestyle changes. So, what better way to help them than hosting a health and fitness fair or expo? If you’ve never done this before, here’s how to get one set up in your local area.

Choose a Venue That’s Appropriate

Not all venues are appropriate for a health and fitness expo. You wouldn’t want to have one across the street from a pizza place or a donut shop, for example. You also wouldn’t want to have a fair that’s difficult to navigate – something in the middle of a crowded city with no parking.

The theme of your fair will also play a role in what venue you ultimate choose. So, beyond just “health and fitness,” you may want to focus on diet, or devote a large section of the fair to it, so something near or at a farmer’s market might be an appropriate setting.

If your “main event” is about exercise, you might rent out a local gym or use a large warehouse-type venue to allow local gym owners to set up their equipment to show off and demonstrate.

If your focus is more toward alternative medicine, you will want a relaxed setting, almost like a spa or resort.

Save The Date

Once you’ve settled on a venue, it’s time to set a date. Now, honestly, a lot of this will be driven by the season and how big of a turnout you expect. Planning an expo in December, for example, is almost always a bad idea because Christmas is so close. You want a time that’s not too busy for people. The middle of summer might initially seem safe, but people tend to go away on holiday then. The fall, or possibly the spring, is a good time for most events.

Choose Vendors

Once you have a general idea of the place you want to book, you have to approach specific vendors and book times and space. So, for example, if you need a meeting room, one of the leading providers of meeting rooms in Perth is Venues West – this is a good place to start.

You may also need music for your event. This is almost always best handled by a local band that you think would be appropriate for your target audience. Catering is something else you may want to look into if you’ll be offering any free food or drinks.

Beyond that, vendors that come to set up booths and educate the public should be contacted at least 3 months in advance, ideally 4 to 6 months. This gives them enough time to plan and create advertising for the event.

Offer A Sampling Of Services

Make sure you don’t focus too heavily on one vendor. It might look like you’re trying to push a particular service. People are generally interested in learning about a variety of health care modalities, for example, from acupuncture to alternative dentistry, to nutritionists, and chiropractors. You may even want to invite doctors and staff from the local hospital, if they can spare them.

Advertise The Event

Don’t forget to advertise your event. This is probably the most important step. Send out flyers to local businesses, take out an ad in the local paper, and advertise on the radio and T.V. Also, try local advertising online through pay-per-click platforms. A lot of people go online these days to find local businesses, believe it or not.

You should have a good idea of how many people will attend by the 3rd week of advertising.

Charlie Makinson runs a small fitness establishment. When he’s not at the gym, he’s sharing what he’s learned about staying fit by posting on the web. Look for his helpful articles mainly on health, fitness, medical and recreation websites and blogs.

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