Kroger piles on the celebs for annual wellness fest
Kroger is promising to help Americans kick-start their journey on a healthy lifestyle with its celebrity-packed, second Wellness Your Way Festival.
The star-studded event this year will feature Jewel, Jillian Michaels and a slew of food and nutrition experts sharing tips for healthy living.
The three-day festival, which includes everything from working out with celebrity fitness experts and listening to inspirational speakers to gathering cooking tips from world-renowned chefs, will be held Oct. 11-13 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Kroger's hometown of Cincinnati.
The event will also feature educational sessions, panel discussions, musical performances, live cooking demonstrations and fitness programs, a consumer food expo, kid-friendly activities, and interactive stations to test new health and wellness technology.
The 2019 event includes a celebrity-charged lineup of health and wellness experts, including appearances from:
- Jewel, multi-platinum singer-songwriter, actress, bestselling author and Wellness Your Way Festival co-founder
- Perez Hilton, social media mogul
- Shanicia Boswell, Black Mom's blog founder
- Karena Dawn and Katrina Scott, Tone It Up co-founders
- Kaisa Keranen, KaisaFit founder
- Ron 'Boss' Everline, JustTrain founder
- Don-a-Matrix, celebrity trainer and BODYARMOR® partner
- Da Rulk, functional fitness guru
- Tony Horton, P90X founder
- Jen Widerstrom, television star and Laura's Lean partner
- Debbie Matenopolous, co-host of The Hallmark Channel's Home & Family
- Joy Bauer, MS, RDN, bestselling author and celebrity health and nutrition expert
- Stuart O'Keeffe, Food Network chef and author of The Quick Six Fix
Jewel's Never Broken Foundation, the official charity of the Wellness Your Way Festival, will host the Jewel Never Broken Lounge and a series of mental health discussions on emotional intelligence and mindfulness, including the popular 2018 panel discussion, "Suicide to Smiles."
Other event highlights include:
- Bee-U-Tique Expo (Oct. 11): The Queen Bee Half Marathon's annual expo will be held inside the Wellness Your Way Festival, serving as the dedicated pick-up location for participant bibs, shirts, and race merchandise. In partnership with the Queen Bee, registered race participants receive free festival admission all weekend.
- The Opening Act competition (Oct. 11): The festival's new musical competition invites undiscovered artists to take the stage for a live performance judged by a panel of experts, including Jewel and a Creative Artists Agency talent scout. The winning act will perform at the Wellness Your Way community concert on Saturday, Oct. 12.
- Grouplove Community Concert (Oct. 12): In collaboration with BLINK and Corporex, the Wellness Your Way Festival will host a free community concert featuring Grouplove, Willie Jones Jr. and Redfoo. Illuminated by Artswave, BLINK is one of the largest light, art and projection events in the nation. The city-wide event will feature large-scale projection mapping, murals by international artists, interactive light sculptures and diverse entertainment.
The Wellness Your Way Festival has partnered with the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati as the official Festival Volunteer Partner for the second annual event. All volunteers with get a one-month guest pass to the YMCA and free festival attendance for the weekend.
Single-day festival passes start at $10 online. Three-day festival passes are $25 and include access to all events within the convention center. Admission is free for children 12 and under.