Contact project lead:

Cathy Malakowsky
[email protected]
City Hall
221 E. Clark St.
Albert Lea, MN 56007
507-377-4316

How to ‘blue zones’ in June: Start a healthy habit and win prizes

 

Blue Zones Albert Lea will kick off its Passport to 9 weeks of Summer on June 11. Freeborn County residents are encouraged to start a healthy habit with the activities listed in the passport. See below for prize information, contest rules and instructions on how to enter.

Activities for Week 1: June 11 – 17

  • Sunday: Attend church or other spiritual gathering
  • Monday: Register a student for FREE Community Ed activities at Academy, Hawthorne, Hayek or Lakeview Park Monday – Thursday(bit.ly/CE-loads-of-fun)
  • Tuesday: Admission is only $2 at the Aquatic Center, 321 James Ave. (cityofalbertlea.org/aquatic-center)
  • Wind Down Wednesday in historic downtown Albert Lea: Check out the food, vendors and entertainment! (www.winddownwednesday.com)
  • Thursday: Take a friend or family member to the musical, “Cinderella” at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center (actonbroadway.com)
  • Friday: Bonus day with 2 free events!
    • Taiko Arts Midwest concert at Fountain Lake Park, 100 Fountain St., 5 – 7 p.m.
    • Movie at the Edgewater Park Bandshell, 1600 Edgewater Drive, at dusk
  • Saturday: Attend Albert Lea Pride at Central Park, 300 W. Clark St., noon – 4 p.m. (bit.ly/ALPride)

This week’s prize: 4 tickets to the Albert Lea Aquatic Center so you can exercise in the water with family or friends and $10 in gift certificates to Eat’N Ice Cream so you can enjoy a treat together.

Activities implement the 9 powers of Blue Zones

Blue Zones are places around the world where people tend to live the longest and healthiest. They share the nine traits or “powers” below. You can start implementing these powers in your life by participating in the activities listed in the passport.

  • Move naturally
  • Know your purpose
  • Downshift
  • Eat until 80% full
  • Put a plant slant on your diet
  • Friends at 5
  • Put loved ones first
  • Belong to a spiritual community
  • Nurture an inner circle of close friends and family members

Learn more about Blue Zones by checking out one of the Blue Zones books from the Albert Lea Public Library.

Prizes

Various prizes will be awarded each week! You could win tickets to the Albert Lea Aquatic Center; gift certificates toward Community Ed classes, Rock Wall passes or Boat House passes; a one-week family membership to the Albert Lea Family Y; and gift certificates for local businesses.

In addition to the weekly prizes, all entries will into a drawing for a grand prize of $50 in Chamber Bucks!

How to enter

  • Complete and check off at least 1 activity per week from June 11 – Aug. 12
  • At the end of each week, enter the prize drawing via email or Facebook post
  • You may win more than once so keep participating
  • All submissions will be entered into a drawing for the grand prize!

How to enter via email – deadline is 8 p.m. Sunday:

  • Send an email with the following information to [email protected]:
    • State the activity you did. For example, “We went to Wind Down Wednesday.”
    • Your name and mailing address
  • If your name is drawn for a prize, you will be notified via email

How to enter via Facebook – deadline is 8 p.m. Sunday:

  • Follow “Blue Zones Project Albert Lea” on Facebook
  • Look for the post about each week’s activities
  • Comment on that post to be entered into the drawing with the activity you did
  • Consider adding a photo to your comment
  • If your name is drawn for the prize, you will be notified via Facebook Messenger

Prizes will be mailed unless making other arrangements.

Contest rules

This contest is open to all residents of Freeborn County, and will run from June 11 – Aug. 12, 2023. You may enter by completing an activity and then contacting Blue Zones Albert Lea via email ([email protected]) or Facebook with the activity completed and your name. You may enter for each activity completed on a weekly basis. A parent or guardian must submit entries for residents under age 14. Entries are due at 8 p.m. on Sunday of each week.

Members of the Blue Zones Leadership Team will randomly draw a name each Monday for winning a prize. Winners will be notified via email or Facebook Messenger with a request for a mailing address, and prizes will be mailed unless making other arrangements with Blue Zones Albert Lea.

On Aug. 14, members of the Blue Zones Leadership Team will randomly draw a name from all entries received for the grand prize.