Fun for health
Children show off their dance moves during a performance at the health fair and movie night in Mattawa Friday.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Seattle Community Church youth group members brought some games and toys, like the bubble wands, to Mattawa movie night. Ellen Choy, one of the youth group members, tried out the bubbles herself.
The fire hose set up by Grant County Fire District 8 proved popular on a hot summer afternoon in Mattawa’s Hund Memorial Park.
Line dancers demonstrate what they’ve learned during a Mattawa movie night performance.
The wheel gets a spin at the Mattawa Community Health Clinic booth at the health fair Friday.
Guitars lead the way during a performance at Mattawa’s summer movie night.
Bingo was one of the games at Mattawa’s combined health fair and summer movie night.
MATTAWA — Maybe that dart game was a little harder than it looked. The guys tried it, and tried again, and kept missing.
“If a little kid can do it, you can do it,” one of the guys told the others, but he was wrong.
The dart game was one of the attractions at the health fair and movie night in Mattawa’s Hund Memorial Park Friday night. It was set up by teens from the Seattle Community Church, who were in Mattawa working on community service projects.
The teens are members of the church’s youth group, and Boston Johnson, director of youth and young adult ministries, said they’ve been coming to Mattawa for about five years. Mattawa City Council member Sun Hwang told them about the town and the opportunity.
It’s a chance for the youth group to learn about something outside their normal summer routine, he said, and do something for a whole different community in the bargain.
“Somewhere outside of where they’ve been,” Johnson said. “We want them to come and experience, and serve.”
The youth group painted over graffiti around Mattawa, sponsored a vacation Bible school and gym night and provided some of the labor for the setup on movie night. Ellen Choy, who’s in the youth group, said she hasn’t spent much time on the eastside, so it was a different experience.
“It’s been really fun,” Choy said.
The summer movie series is sponsored by Matawa city officials, Mattawa Community Health Clinic and the Columbia Basin Health Association, in cooperation with other partners. Seattle Community Church and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center co-sponsored the health fair.
Health fair exhibitors came from throughout the region. Others, like Mattawa Community Health, provided information on their services and how people can access them. Dulce Silveno said Mattawa residents don’t always know what’s available at the clinic, and events like the health fair and movie nights are effective ways to get their message out.
Health fair exhibitors had information on low-income housing, preventing marijuana and tobacco use, and options for behavioral healthcare. Staff members of Radio KDNA, Yakima, talked about its programming on preventing substance abuse and gang activity. Big Bend Community College had class offerings, not only for the college’s healthcare programs but also for its programs in the Mattawa area.
“I think knowledge is power,” said BBCC employee Jacqui Bonilla.
Grant County Fire District 8 provided a fire hose set up as a sprinkler, and very popular it was too, especially with children, on a breezy but hot summer afternoon. A children’s folk dance troupe demonstrated what they had learned.
The last summer movie is scheduled for Aug. 4, which will also be the Mattawa Police Department’s National Night Out program.
Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.
