Bradenton set for 'healthy week' of activities

MANATEE -- The next week should be a healthy one in Manatee County.

The Florida Department of Health in Manatee is celebrating National Public Health Week with events Thursday through Tuesday.

Also, the Manatee YMCA's free community event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday is meant to inspire children to keep their minds and bodies active.

The YMCA's Healthy Kids Day at Bradenton's Riverwalk is expected to draw a crowd of 5,000, according to a Manatee YMCA news release.

Healthy Kids Day will feature bounce houses and other inflatable devices, an obstacle course, a fishing clinic, a DJ, crafts and activities, food for purchase, exhibitors such as Mote Marine and Jungle Gardens and more than 70 vendors.

Preregistration at a Manatee YMCA branch is required for the fishing clinic only. Children who participate in the clinic will receive a free rod and reel.

Healthy Kids Day is celebrated at nearly 1,300 YMCAs across the country.

Information: 941-798-9622 or manateeymca.org.

National Public Health Week events this year sponsored by the Florida Department of Health in Manatee include two community garden information sessions, an educational presentation to high school students on health professions, daily wellness walks and an informational booth at the Bradenton Farmer's Market, according to a news release.

The community garden information sessions are set for 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the main lobby of DOH-Manatee, 410 Sixth Ave. E., Bradenton, and 12:30-2 p.m. Thursday in the Women, Infants, and Children lobby at the DOH-Manatee.

An informational table on epidemiology and disease investigations will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at Manatee Memorial's Bistro Café, 206 Second St. E., Bradenton.

WIC staff will provide nutritional information and sign mothers up for WIC at the Bradenton Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday

A health professions presentation to the Manatee County Youth Commission will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday at South Branch Library, 6081 26th St. W., Bradenton.

Ten-minute daily wellness walks will be conducted at noon each day through Sunday beginning at the DOH-Manatee main entrance, 410 Sixth Ave. E., Bradenton. Walks are a half-mile, which is equivalent to 1,000 steps.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton set for 'healthy week' of activities ."