Fifth Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Health & Fitness to Feature Stage Demonstrations, Interactive/Sports Zones, Family Entertainment Oct 4-5 at USC

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23, 2003 – The fifth annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Health & Fitness will feature five stages offering a variety of activities, including interactive exercises, cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs, dance and musical performances, and appearances by popular children’s television characters as well as panel sessions conducted by some of the nation’s top medical and holistic health experts.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, and Sunday, Oct. 5, on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles. Admission to the festival and panel sessions is free to the public. On-campus parking is available for $5.

Speaker and event information is available online at www.latimes.com/festivalofhealth. The official Los Angeles Times Festival of Health & Fitness event program will appear in the Sept. 28 edition of The Times.

Many of the more than 150 exhibitors will offer information about a wide range of health issues as well as free health and other medical services. On-site services will include oral screenings; backpack safety checks; vision and LASIK evaluations; body fat analyses; diabetes, blood pressure, hypertension and osteoporosis screenings; and medication assessments. Resource centers will offer caregivers information about senior services, support groups, family counseling, and cancer treatment clinical trials.

Center Stage Pavilion

Saturday – Alzheimer’s spokespersons Hector Elizondo, Shelley Fabares, Sharon Lawrence and David Hyde Pierce; Dr. Gary Small, MD, neuroscientist and author, “The Memory Bible: An Innovative Strategy for Keeping Your Brain Young;” Marilu Henner, actress and author, “Healthy Holidays: Total Health Entertaining All Year Round;” Gotham Chopra, Channel One News anchor and author, “Familiar Strangers: Uncommon Wisdom in Unlikely Places”

Sunday – Actors and diabetes health advocates Robert Guillaume and Yvette Freeman; Dr. Susan Love, MD, author, “Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book;” Barry Sears, author, “The Zone;” Joe and Teresa Graedon, authors, “The People’s Pharmacy”

Body Works Patio

Saturday – Television actress and t’ai chi instructor Erin Gray; Doug Brignole, co-host of ESPN’s “Totalmente En Forma” and former Mr. Universe; Philip Goglia, co-owner and president, Performance Fitness Concepts, and fitness consultant to professional athletes and Hollywood celebrities; Christy Kimbro, founder of Y.M.I. Yoga, a Los Angeles-based hatha yoga center; certified Pilates Method instructor Suzi Lonergan; Ahnjel Ali, aerobics instructor, sports performance nutritional counselor and fitness trainer

Sunday – Pat Connelly, coach of the L.A. Roadrunners, the official training program of the City of Los Angeles Marathon; Arthur Jeon, yoga instructor and author, “City Dharma;” Max Strom, director of Sacred Movement, a Los Angeles yoga and healing center; Krishna Kaur Khalsa, founder and president, International Assn. of Black Yoga Teachers

Doctors of USC Stage

Saturday – “New Treatments for Macular Degeneration,” “The Latest in Surgical Treatments for Parkinson’s Disease and Epilepsy,” “Prevention and Treatment Options for Spine and Back Injuries,” “Prostate Cancer: What Every Man Should Know”

Sunday – “The Latest Advances in Preventing and Treating Colorectal Cancer,” “Skin Cancer: Advances in Detection and Treatment,” “The Latest Advances in Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery”

Fitness Stage

Saturday – Linda Taix, certified fitness trainer and owner of TAIX Workout Studio, home of Extreme Bootcamp, a military-based outdoor fitness program; Aparecida Groome, creator of “The Goddess Body Prayer,” a holistic combination of Tantra, African-Brazilian spirituality and belly dance

Sunday – Spinning demonstration by spinning instructor and trainer Rich Herbert; Jazzercise cardiovascular workout

Both days – Martial arts demonstrations include Brazilian Capoeira, Filipino Kali/Eskrima, Chinese wushu, Jeet Kune Do and Muay Thai, Thai kick-boxing. Musical entertainment will feature Spirit Groove, a high enery exercise class combining hip hop, African,Latin, Middle Eastern, modern and jazz dance, conducted by instructor Misty Tripoli; Latin jazz by The Susie Hansen Band; and Caribbean and reggae music by Michael Wagner and The Roots Band.

Food Stage (cooking demonstrations)

Saturday – Regina Campbell, author and host of public television’s “Regina’s Vegetarian Table;” Cheryl Forberg, RD, author, “Stop the Clock! Cooking;” syndicated food writer Linda Gassenheimer, author, “Low-Carb Meals in Minutes;” executive chef Juliano, owner of RAW in Santa Monica and author, “Raw: The UNcook Book”

Sunday – Leanne Ely, editor of Healthy-Foods online magazine and author, “Saving Dinner;” Kathy Keenan Isoldi, author, “Woman’s Day Weight Loss Plan;” David Lebovitz, author, “Ripe for Dessert,” and considered one of San Francisco’s top five pastry chefs; Michel Nischan, executive chef of Song Airways and author, “Taste Pure and Simple;” Diane Rossen Worthington, James Beard Award-winning author, “The Cuisine of California” and “Seriously Simple”

Kids’ Stage

Saturday – California Science Center’s BrainWorks show; STAR ECO Station’s “Healthy Pets For Kids” workshop; “What’s In a Doctor’s Bag” by doctor-comedian Neil Shulman; performances by Arte Flamenco Dance Theatre, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Los Angeles Performing Arts Academy and the Japanese dance troupe, Kishin Daiko

Sunday – “Get Hyped Up!” kids’ workout with former Los Angeles Laker Girl Tricia Gomez; Dr. Jennifer Holtzman, DDS, dental and oral health educator and executive director, ToothWoman Network; “Cook It Up!” with chef Michelle Moore; performances by Abalaye African Dance Ensemble and Mariachi Fiesta Mexicana

Interactive Zones

The festival’s Kids’ Fun and Fitness zones will feature:

11th Annual Memory Walk to Kick Off Festival

The 11th Annual Memory Walk benefiting the Alzheimer’s Assn. in Los Angeles will kick off this year’s Festival of Health & Fitness at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4. The five-kilometer fund-raiser will begin on Trousdale Parkway on the USC campus and will benefit local community programs and services supporting Alzheimer’s patients and their families.

Guest celebrities participating in the Memory Walk include National Honorary Chairs Shelley Fabares and David Hyde Pierce along with Bryan Cranston, Hector Elizondo, Ken Howard, Rafer Johnson, Sharon Lawrence, George Takei and Lea Thompson. Steve Edwards, host of FOX 11’s Good Day L.A., will emcee the event.

Additional information about the Memory Walk is available by calling 323-930-6228 and online at www.alzla.org/mw.

Presenting sponsors are the University of Southern California and The Doctors of USC. Major sponsor is The California Wellness Foundation. Supporting sponsors are Crest Healthy Smiles 2010, Oxytrol and HEARx. Media sponsors are KTLA-TV, ESPN Radio AM (710), KDIS-AM Radio Disney (1110), KKBT-FM “The Beat” (100.3) and KPCC FM (89.3).