UNCA’s second annual Well-A-Bration features talk by Dan Savage, health activities

From the press release:

UNC Asheville’s second annual Well-A-Bration, September 13-15, will feature music, a sports expo, healthy cooking and exercise workshops, and a keynote talk by author, activist and sex-advice columnist Dan Savage.

Savage is nationally known for his syndicated “Savage Love” column and for his role in creating the “It Gets Better Project.” The project began with a YouTube video created by Savage with his partner, Terry Miller, in response to suicides among LGBT youth who were being bullied in school. More than 50,000 people have since joined in creating “It Gets Better” videos to show LGBT youth “the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years.” The project is dedicated to reminding teens in the LGBT community “that they are not alone – and it WILL get better.”

Savage will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, in UNC Asheville’s Justice Center. Ticket information is below.

Highlights of Well-A-Bration 2012 include:
UNC Asheville Health & Wellness Open House – 12:30-2:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, Sherrill Center. Tour the balance lab, biometrics lab and “BodPod,” the neuro-biofeedback lab, and the teaching kitchen. Free and open to the public.

Dan Savage – 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, Justice Center. Book-signing follows the talk. Savage’s talks are interactive, creating a space for people, straight and gay, to honestly discuss “taboo” topics. With the audience driving the discussion, the program can touch on any subject – bouncing from sexual problems to gay marriage, to child-raising and sex education, to the current political scene. This talk is intended for adult audiences and may contain subject matter and language not suitable for children. Tickets are $10, available in advance by cash or check only, at the Highsmith University Union front desk. Tickets for UNC Asheville students are free, with a limit of one ticket per student. For ticket information, please call 828/251-6600.
Asheville Citizen-Times Half-Marathon and 5K Sports Expo – 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday, Sept. 14, Kimmel Arena. This second annual Sports Expo features information and products for running, fitness, sports and wellness. Free and open to the public.

Lagniappe Brass Band
Well-A-Bration Celebration with the Lagniappe Brass Band – This brand band puts an up-tempo, high-energy twist on New Orleans-style brass-band music, driven by an Afro-Cuban bass/drums pulse from below. Lagniappe will lead a New Orleans-Style Second-Line Parade through campus, beginning 12:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, outside of University Hall. At 1 p.m. in Lipinsky Auditorium, the band presents a workshop, with both music and lecture, on the music culture of New Orleans. At 7:30 p.m. on the Quad, there will be samples of traditional New Orleans cuisine, prepared by the UNC Asheville Association for Women in Mathematics. And at 8 p.m. Lagniappe offers a concert on the Quad. All free and open to the public.

Food for Thought – beginning at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept., 14, on the Quad, UNC Asheville presents two discussions and a movie about America’s food production, distribution and consumption. At 4:30 p.m., meet local farmers for a discussion about food production and the local food economy, and then at 5:15 stay for a panel discussion about food issues. The film “Food Inc.” will be screened on the Quad at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public.

Healthy Weight Loss Summit – 1-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, Sherrill Center. A day of cooking demonstrations, exercise classes and more. Cost is $95 with profits donated to ASAP – The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. Information and registration: http://healthyweightloss_summit-unca.eventbrite.com/
For more information about Well-A-Bration 2012, please visit http://ncchw.unca.edu/Well-a-Bration or contact UNC Asheville’s N.C. Center for Health & Wellness at 828.258.7712.