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Chicago is undergoing a foodie revolution. From passing the nations largest soda tax to exploring new and intriguing options for local food, the Windy City is making leaps and bounds to become a beacon of sustainability.

Dont believe us? Here are sevenfantastic initiatives the Windy City has undertaken to further the transition to great, sustainable food.

Just west of Chicago in the prairie town of Rochelle, IL, indoor tomato grower MightyVine has restored acres of farmland that had been damaged by a developer. The growers use Dutch technology comprising a special diffused glass and radiated heat to grow tomatoes 365 days a year. The super-local tomatoes are delivered to stores just a few hours away in Chicago as soon as theyve been picked.

Sustainability is particularly important to MightyVine farmers, who have managed to provide a 90 percent water savings over field-grown tomatoes, not to mention reduced pesticide use as compared to most conventional growers.

You cant get more local than the organic produce grown on the 3,500-square-foot organic rooftop garden at Homestead on the Roof. Executive Chef Scott Shulman has his pick of herbs, chilies, tomatoes, peas, and more to concoct his versatile, seasonal menu, which is served on the 85-seat patio that sits right next to the rooftop garden, which also features two vertical hanging gardens, and dozens of planter boxes.

When Daisies opened last month, Chef Joe Frillman realized his dream of combining his passion for handmade pasta and locally sourced crops, almost all of which come from Frillmans brothers farm in nearby Prairie View, IL. But Frillman is taking the old trope of locally sourced ingredients to the next level, with the goal of rolling out an in-house fermentation program, too.

Daisies is also making strides in recycling cooking oil: used cooking oil is donated to be recycled for biodiesel, and the resulting profits are donated to charity.

Member-supported non-profit Slow Food Chicago is one of the largest chapters of Slow Food USA, with more than 500 members. Its myriad projects include the preSERVE Garden, a project created in 2010 in cooperation with the North Lawndale Greening Committee, the Chicago Honey Co-Op, and NeighborSpace.

In 2013, the city lot harvested more than 430 pounds of food from 31 different crops, and the gardencontinues to grow today.

Founded in 2011, the Urban Canopy comprises an indoor growing space and a two-acre community farm in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. But more than mere growers, the Canopy members see themselves as educators and advocates for the urban food movement.

Founder Alex Poltoraks vision began while working with Chicago Public Schools as an Education Pioneer Fellow. After exploring how nutrition affects children in school, he was inspired to create the project to utilize idle urban spaces to attack this problem at the community level.Through volunteer availabilities, a Compost Club, and a CSA, the group endeavors to make farming as easy as possible on as many unused spaces as possible.

An unused mezzanine spaceof Chicago OHare Airports G terminal has been transformed into the worlds first aeroponic gardenby Future Growing LLC. The garden, made up of a series of vertical PVC towers where herbs, greens, and tomatoes are grown, uses a mere five percent of the water normally used for farming.

The produce grown in the airportis used by local chefs, including Wolfgang Puck, who runs a restaurant in the airport.

Marty Travis is a seventh-generation Illinois farmer. As his farming community fellvictim to Big Ag, Travisdecided to do something about it. He created Spence Farm, a 160-acre beacon of biodiversity where he grows a variety of ancient grains and heirloom fruits and vegetables and raises heritage breed livestock, nearly all of which is sold locally to chefs in Chicago. His story of preserving the history and practice of small sustainable family farming in is told in the film Sustainable Food.

Related on Organic AuthorityThis Technology is Successfully Predicting Foodborne Illness Outbreaks in Chicago (and Maybe Your Town Soon) But What About All the Deep Dish Pizza? Rahm Emanuel Wants Chicagoans to go Vegan Vancouvers Sustainable Food Scene is Totally Killing It

Emily Monaco is an American food and culture writer based in Paris. She loves uncovering the stories behind ingredients and exposing the face of our food system, so that consumers can make educated choices. Her work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Vice Munchies, and Serious Eats.

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7 Ways Chicago is Becoming the New Beacon of the Sustainable Food Movement - Organic Authority

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Ashutosh Maharaj: Followers win fight to keep guru in freezer BBC News The heavily-guarded 100-acre ashram in Punjab where the guru has been kept is just one sign of his vast financial assets. Mr Jha has accused the guru's disciples of retaining his body as a ploy to keep control of his wealth. Shortly after his death in ... Indian court allows guru's disciples to continue preserving his body in freezerThe Guardian Hindu Disciples Put Dead Guru In Freezer, Because He's Just MeditatingThe Daily Caller HC allows preservation of Ashutosh Maharaj's body in deep freezer ...NYOOOZ all 21 news articles »

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Ashutosh Maharaj: Followers win fight to keep guru in freezer - BBC News

On Saturday, July 8, join meditation master Tom G. OBrien as you put mind and moonlight over matter in a guided full moon meditation on East Beach. Designed for newcomers and meditation experts alike, the non-dogmatic, hour-long session is open to anyone seeking to enjoy the therapeutic and practical benefits of meditation, with the added scenic and sonic bonus of gently crashing waves lit by themoon.

Tiki torches will light the way to the meditation location, where OBrien will commence the hour with a set of concise instructions and breathing exercises. Arrive a few minutes early, warmly dressed and with a blanket, towel, yoga mat, or beach/lawn chair to sit on, and let the universe, as OBrien might say, do therest.

Started in 2012, OBriens full moon sessions have provided hundreds of Santa Barbarans with an hour of peace along the beach. A Santa Barbara native, OBrien is happy to share the wisdom he has gained from a practice that has taken him far and wide. As founder of Rupa Meditation its name refers to a soft, sacred blue light often seen by meditators behind closed eyes he has served young teens and adults, prisoners andpensioners.

He first encountered meditation around the age of 28 while living in New York and finding work as a perspiring actor. Uncertain where his life was headed, caught on a carousel of decreasingly satisfying work and relationships, he reached a turning point when, seeking answers in various philosophical texts, he found some resonance in the hundreds-year-old teachings of Zen masters. I was like, I need to find a teacher with a capital T, someone who has crossed over to the other side in terms of their human experience, he said. He sought out various meditation groups in New York and stumbled across a little flyer in a Jewish deli for a non-denominational class. I owe my spiritual awakening to a knish, hejoked.

Since having a profound spiritual awakening, OBrien has meditated almost daily. Ive meditated 98 percent of my days on this planet, he said. Hes felt far more creative, far more energetic, and hes thinking a lotclearer.

And hes gone on to share the benefits with others especially in prisons, such as the California Mens Colony in San Luis Obispo and numerous state prisons in New York. Ive seen dozens of men whose lives have been completely transformed after regular meditation practice, OBrien said of the inmates hes instructed. Theyre back with their families, raising their children, paying taxes, being functioning members of society for the first time in their life, hesaid.

OBrien emphasized the practical benefits of meditation, citing a Harvard neuroscience study that showed frontal lobe growth after just eight weeks of meditation. Meditation improves your brain, slows your heart rate, and offers freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts. Where we are the witness of our mind, we are not being swept away by our thoughts, OBriensaid.

The Full Moon Meditation Workshop takes place on Saturday, July 8, at 8 p.m. East Beach. RSVP to rupameditation@gmail.com.

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Meditate Under the Moon at East Beach - Santa Barbara Independent

Rep. Tim Ryan believes meditating not only helps him navigate through tumultuous political waters but that it can be useful for the country in these uncertain times.

There's no better place to ... practice embracing uncertainty than in the United States Congress, Ryan told ABCs Dan Harris during an interview for his 10% Happier podcast. Especially now nobody has a clue of what direction well go in.

Ryan, D-Ohio, sat down with Harris and meditation teacher Jeff Warren during Harris' and Warrens cross-country meditation road trip shortly after President Trumps inauguration. The interview is the featured 10% Happier podcast episode posted today.

Ryan has been in the spotlight recently for being among the Democrats who have made a push to oust Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as House minority leader. Ryan himself launched a failed challenge to unseat Pelosi for the position last November.

When asked in January if he thought his meditation practice could help him work better with Republicans and then newly-elected President Trump, Ryan said absolutely.

I dont have to like him, I dont have to go drink beer with him, I dont have to play golf with him, Ryan said at the time. But if he has something thats going to help my constituents, I hope I can ratchet me own stuff down to be able to do that. I mean, its my obligation to be able to do that.

Subscribe and listen to the "10% Happier" podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, TuneIn, on ABC Radio podcasts and under the "Listen" tab on the ABC News app.

Ryan has been hosting meditation sessions for members of Congress and their staffs for years, bringing in a variety of different teachers, from practitioners who work with veterans to Deepak Chopra. The sessions are bipartisan, and the congressman said people from both sides of the aisle have joined.

I had a bunch of people grab me just this year saying, I think we need to start coming to your thing, Ryan said. People dont even know what to call it but they know its stress reduction stuff and more and more people are looking to be a part of it.

Ryan said he has heard from others on Capitol Hill that finding the time to meditate is a challenge.

Its hard with the demands you fly in right before votes and you stack your schedule with meetings and then you fly out as soon as you can, so carving out the time and really make it a priority is tough for people, Ryan said. Thats what I think the staff [participation] is really important because you can still work your way into an office where someone is starting to want to change the dynamics of the office.

The congressman knows the exhaustion of the job all too well. By 2008, he was in his third term and after spending the election cycle campaigning and fundraising for candidates through his swing state, Ryan said, I was almost out.

It wasnt burnout I was just like, Ive got to do something, he said.

He went on a five-day retreat with Jon Kabat-Zinn, a renowned meditation teacher who focuses on secular mindfulness meditation without religious overtones. Sitting for hours in silence on retreat, Ryan said he started to feel the benefits from meditation.

It was just like, this is unbelievable,' you can start really seeing your thoughts, he said. And then you become aware of why you have high blood pressure. I keep thinking these negative thoughts over and over and over again and you wonder why youre stressed out [over] stuff thats years gone by or hasnt even happened.

Ryan is now an eighth-term congressman representing Ohios 13th District, and his experiences with meditation led him to write A Mindful Nation, in which he talked about areas of government in which mindfulness could be helpful.

In May, Ryan co-sponsored a bill aimed at providing funding for reducing teacher stress, and previously he sponsored a bill to increase holistic-medicine assistance for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Ryan said he tries to explain to others that even though meditation gets a reputation for being a liberal, new-age practice, there are conservative values embodied in it.

Its about taking care of yourself, he said. Its about understanding yourself. Its about making you healthier.

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Rep. Tim Ryan says meditation not only reduces his stress, it may ... - ABC News

Kate Love of the Open Mind-Open Heart meditation group in Bethesda says that meditation can help reduce stress. Photo contributed

There is the expectation that we need to be available and informed all the time. This expectation wasnt in place 10 years ago. Kate Love

In her dimly lit basement in Great Falls, Mary Beth Kogod sounds a meditation bell that echoes through the room. The 12 people sitting on cushions in a circle around her close their eyes and listen to the gentle sounds of her voice.

If your mind begins to wander, gently guide it back to the sound of my voice, said Kogod, as she leads the group in a mindfulness meditation session.

The practice of meditating to aid with ills running the gamut from stress and anxiety to pain and depression is on the rise. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 18 million people practiced some form of meditation in 2015, and the number of Americans who engage in the practice has doubled over the last 15 years.

We have more smartphones and other electronics that consume us and give us constant access to stressful events we see on the news, said Kate Love, who runs the Open Mind-Open Heart meditation group in Bethesda. There is the expectation that we need to be available and informed all the time. This expectation wasnt in place 10 years ago.

Love says that while scientific research to back up these claims is limited, it is growing. For example, a study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at NIH shows that mindfulness practices have a positive impact on insomnia.

Meditation usually entails sitting relatively still and quiet, as in Kogods meditation session, and focusing on one thing, such as a sound, an image or ones own breath.

I teach clients concentrative meditation where they focus on one thing, she said. I also teach mindful meditation where people try to cultivate a sense of awareness of what is happening in their body. For example, what thoughts pass through your mind as you sit quietly? What sounds do you hear? What emotions do you feel? The work comes when you notice these sensations and then let them go.

A 2011 study by the Association for Psychological Science showed that meditation can be effective in boosting memory and concentration. Settings for this mind-body practice now range from workplaces to classrooms.

Amber Wilson, a fourth grade teacher, guides her students in mindfulness meditation practices most afternoons during the school year. A lot of my students have difficult home environments which affects their ability to concentrate in school, she said. When I stop them between subjects and let them chill out a little bit, it really makes a difference in their performance, even after just five minutes.

Meditation can also help with addiction treatment, says Warren Schelter, Ph.D., a psychologist with a practice in Alexandria. It can instill a sense of calm and overall wellbeing, he said. Anxiety and depression often go hand-in hand with addiction, which is why a calming meditation practice might be effective for some people.

Schelter underscores the fact that meditation should not replace traditional medicine. I would recommend that anyone experiencing symptoms of mental or physical illness see a medical doctor first, she said. Mediation should work in conjunction with traditional medicine, not in place of it.

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Wellbeing: Meditation as Medicine - The Connection Newspapers - Virginia Connection Newspapers

"I thought meditation was very important, or it was to me," Read, 95, said last Friday, sitting in the naturally lit, wooden-floored UND Lotus Meditation Center. "I felt a need for it and I didn't want to live in a place that didn't have one. Grand Forks did not have one, and I didn't want to move, so I built one."

The meditation group housed at the center met in the building for the last time in late June. The center is attached to the International Center on University Avenue, a building that is being torn down later this summer as part of a wider effort to cut down the campus footprint and reduce deferred maintenance expenses in older buildings. The cost-saving push comes as UND is absorbing a $32 million cut in its two-year state appropriated budget.

According to university spokesman Peter Johnson, the planned demolition of the International Center was announced to the public in late 2015, but Read says UND never reached out to her directly. She and the meditation group learned their center would be torn down only after reading about it in the Herald in the spring of 2016.

Johnson says UND administration has worked with the group to relocate it on campus but couldn't speak to when the center's users were notified. He wrote in an email that the announcement of the International Center's offline status overlapped with changes in key personnel, namely the exit of campus facilities leader Dave Chakraborty.

Read, a former UND music professor, paid for the construction of the center in 1997 and gave it to the school. She also provided a $10,000 endowment entrusted to the UND Foundation and Alumni Association to cover the center's programming and biannual retreats.

The Herald reported at the time that the center was built for $50,000. By the time it was all said and done, Read says she spent as much as $200,000 getting the place in shape.

She's grateful that the center had 20 good years. But now she wonders what message the closure of her center sends to anyone else considering making a gift to the university. She's also questioning the way things are going on campus, a place she describes as being caught up in a wave of cuts sweeping North Dakota and higher education as a whole.

"It seems like the plans for the university are to cut a lot of things down: Programs, buildings, like we don't need it, we don't need a campus," Read said. "I don't think you can get an education online only. It can be helpful for some facts. But without interaction, the human side of it, I don't think you can get it."

Read is a few years shy of a full century on earth, but she gets around well with the help of a cane. A former UND music professor and a Louisiana native with a trace of accent, she came to the university in 1959 and remained employed there until 1988. She was interested in the role of music in cultures around the world and brought performers to campus to share music from as far as Zimbabwe and as close to home as the Turtle Mountain reservation. Over more than half a century in Grand Forks, she has won numerous accolades, including the Sioux Award, UND's highest honor.

Since its founding, her center has played an interfaith role on campus. Though Read herself has maintained an interest in Buddhism, she said the launch of the Lotus Meditation Center included representatives of all the local religious groups she could find. The center was used frequently as a prayer space by Muslim students and faculty and hosted classes in traditional Chinese practices qigong and tai chi.

The center also held retreats, typically on a twice-a-year basis, where attendees could find a more in-depth experience in meditative practices.

Adjusting to new space

The International Center was identified in a December 2015 public forum as one of a pool of buildings UND would stop using.

UND librarian Janet Rex, a longtime leader the meditation group, wrote in an email that the center's users missed that forum and were "oblivious of these plans to demolish" the building until they read about them in a Herald article. Even then, they weren't sure if the move would affect the meditation center. The group, which operated in some ways like an independent organization, had an unusual placement in the UND hierarchy of things but ultimately answered to Sandra Mitchell, the former UND associate vice president for diversity and inclusion.

Rex said the group consulted first with Mitchell, then eventually with UND Provost Tom DiLorenzo to see if the center could possibly be saved. Read was hopeful it could be separated from the International Center and moved elsewhere to be preserved and, for a brief period, Lotus Meditation Center leaders thought it possible that Read still owned the building itself, opening a chance that it could be relocated to an off-campus site. That proved to not be the case, so the group looked to finding a new home.

Through talks with UND leaders, it came to be decided that the best place for the Lotus Meditation Center would be in UND's Memorial Union or, more specifically, in a remodeled meeting room in the tunnel that connects the union to Swanson Hall.

It was to that room that Rex and a team of UND facilities workers were moving the Lotus Meditation Center's belongings last Friday. The new space, being underground, lacks natural light and is lit with florescent bulbs. Maybe more importantly, it lacks the autonomy of the old space.

With the loss of the center, Rex said the group has been relegated to the status of any other campus organization trying to schedule time in a public space mainly intended for use by students, who get priority when requesting to use the room. As the meditation group was preparing to transfer its various cushions, benches and other furnishings to their new space, they were confronted with another bump in the roadthe university had initially sought payment from the center to cover the cost of the labor used to move everything into the space under Swanson Hall. The university eventually dropped that request, but Read was adamant that she wouldn't have authorized the payment anyway. The move has marked a challenging time for the center, but both Read and Rex are optimistic it will continue in its new home.

Among themselves, the meditation group is trying to focus on the transition as an example of Buddhist teachings in daily life.

"This gives us a lot to work with," Rex said. "In our practice, there's suffering because of our clinging to things. So this is a very deep exercise in letting go and how life changes every time."

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UND meditation group says its was unaware of demolition plans - Grand Forks Herald

Event Date:

09:30 to 12:30

Open your heart to love, on Saturday, July 15, and join Rev. Karen for a half-day retreat at Meditation Mount from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The world needs love, Rev. Karen says, and we are here to be it and express it. The morning will be devoted to inner reflection, wisdom talks, sacred music, and quiet walks on the beautiful grounds. Randee Vasilakos, registered Science of Mind Practitioner, will be available to assist with prayers for personal healing. People of all faiths and traditions, or no tradition, are welcome to attend. We have access to an inexhaustible supply of love, Rev. Karen says. It is our Nature; our true Self. We access that love through silence and in prayerwhether we pray with words, or simply remain in an open meditative state. Join us for a morning devoted to experiencing that Essence. The retreat is by donation; $10 is suggested. Meditation Mount is located at 10340 Reeves Road, Ojai. For more information, contact Rev. Karen at 310-968-8928, or register online at http://www.karenswylie.com.

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Mid-Month Devotional Retreat at Meditation Mount - Santa Barbara Edhat

A new water aerobics program at Jacksonvilles Buckner Park pool has proven so popular this summer, city officials have given the green light to expand it from one to two days a week.

And assistant city manager Patty Crenshaw couldnt be more thrilled.

I knew it would be something the community would welcome, but I am really surprised at how it has embraced the program, she said, adding she was pleased by the response. When you offer something like this, you hope thats what theyre really wanting.

Already working with the American Red Cross to offer swim lessons and water safety classes, city leaders felt water aerobics might be a good way to round out its offerings this year.

Part of it was motivated by hiring Tonya (city recreation director Tonya Foluke), who had the talent and the training to be able to teach the class, Crenshaw said, noting the program began in June. The folks taking the class loved it so much, they asked if we could hold it two days a week.

The new class is definitely a popular one, Foluke agreed.

We held it from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, and weve had 17 inquiries for more classes from that first session, she said, describing classes as real laid back.

According to http://www.phase-iv.net - a website operated by the Phase IV Health & Performance Center, which is dedicated to improving the health and lifestyle of people of all ages - benefits of water exercise include: high calorie burning during and after workouts; renewal of energy levels; stress/tension relief; lowered risk of stress-related injuries due to buoyancy of water; and higher workout intensity due to water resistance.

You dont need any special equipment, the site notes, adding that water exercise is not restricted by outside temperatures.

And, Foluke said, its good for people who have joint problems, who may be recovering from any type of surgery - the water softens the impact (of the workout).

Cost of the program is $40 per month or $10 per class, with two classes offered from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, beginning July 4. They will be offered throughout the month of July, with plans to extend through the month of August.

Meanwhile, water safety/swimming classes for all ages also resume on July 4, and will be held as a two-week session, with a second session slated to begin July 18. Classes will be held Tuesday through Friday, beginning at 8 a.m., 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Cost is $40 per child per session; families enrolling more than one child receive a slight discount, at $30 assessed per child.

Courses, which are part of the American Red Cross swimming and water safety program, include Parent and Aquatics (for parents and children ages six months to three years); Preschool Aquatics (children ages 4-5); Learn-to-Swim (ages 6-12); and Adult Swim, for those ages 13 and older.

While swim lessons have been offered in the past in partnership with the YMCA, last year the department was scrambling to get the program into place, and ended up training its team of lifeguards through Red Cross.

I was very impressed with their water safety course - (lifeguards) have to pass a swimming test, a written test, have the ability to teach and must receive 50 hours of instruction, Crenshaw said, adding instructors began receiving training on June 19.

We had to wait for (several lifeguards) to finish school, so next year, we hope to stagger certifications so that every year, well be training someone for two-year certification, she said.

In doing so, the city will have top-trained instructors to oversee what Crenshaw calls a top-quality facility.

Were wanting to grow our aquatic program, because we have a quality pool, she said. We want to offer citizens inexpensive programs that have value (as well as provide opportunities for enjoyment).

We definitely want to implement programs that will help folks get into the pool, into Lake Jacksonville, and be safe while doing so, Foluke added.

Crenshaw agreed. If we can teach even the little guys about safety around water - if this helps to save one life - whatever the city spends on these programs is worth it, she said.

Those interested in lessons or water aerobics are invited to sign up during classes at Buckner Park pool, located at 119 Newbern St.

They also can visit the City of Jacksonville website, http://www.jacksonville-texas.com, or contact Tonya Foluke at 281-330-7568 to learn more.

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Water aerobics program creating huge splash at city pool this summer - Jacksonville Daily Progress

Five different gymnastics disciplines of artistic, rhythmic, trampoline, acrobatic and aerobics will all be showcased for the second successive European Games in Minsk in 2019, it has been confirmed.

Members of the European Union of Gymnastics (UEG) ruling Executive Committee voted in favour of participation in the Belarus capital with exactly the same programme as in Baku in 2015.

As well as the three Olympic disciplines of men and women's artistic, rhythmic and trampoline, this was considered particularly innovative at the inaugural 2015 event because it also included the non-Olympic aerobic and acrobatic ones on the same programme for the first time.

In acrobatics, gymnasts work together and perform routines consisting of acrobatic moves and dance and tumbling, while in aerobics, they perform continuously complex and high-intensity movement patterns to music.

There was no mention after the meeting, however, of any discussions towards incorporating another event such as parkour.

Parkour or obstacle course sprint, has been pioneered as the newest gymnastics discipline with an eye to eventual Olympic inclusion.

There has been fierce opposition from the grassroots parkour community, who claim the International Gymnastics Federation are trying to "hijack" the event, while there are also fears elsewhere that the ambitions of aerobics and acrobatics may be sidelined.

All five events are expected to be held within the 15,000 capacity Minsk Arena.

Competition is expected to take place from June 21 to 30 in 2019.

Holon in Israel was also awarded the 2019 European Championships in acrobatic gymnastics between October 21 and 27 during the Executive Committee meeting at their Lausanne headquarters.

The 2020 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships were also awarded to Kiev in Ukraine from May 22 to 24.

The next meeting of the UEGs Executive Committee is scheduled to take place on September 8 and 9 in the Swiss city.

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Acrobatic and aerobic gymnastics to return to European Games ... - Insidethegames.biz

Makana Aerobics and Fitness Club (MAFC) held its second annual aerobics marathon recently. The program was well attended by aerobics clubs from districts including Alfred Nzo, Joe Gqabi, Buffalo City Metro, Chris Hani, O.R Tambo district and Amatole District. One aerobics club travelled from Bloemfontein to take part.

Sarah Baartman District was represented by Makana Aerobics and Fitness club (MAFC).

The Health and Fitness program started with a 5km fun run with the assistance of Makana Traffic officers who escorted the athletes. The fun run was followed by the eight hour aerobics marathon.

The days programme was jointly assisted by Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Makana Municipality, Coca- Cola Company, Metropolitan Insurance Company, Pick n Pay Supermarket and other local businesses including Mfana Ndini Braai place, Nyama Rama Butchery, taxi industry.

The aerobics marathon (comprising five Hi-lo, Cater Box, Step Aerobics, Functional and Team),attracted 86 people, with 10 finishers in the fun run.

The event was well attended and MAFC think it served the purpose for which it was intended. We hope that next year when the event of this nature takes it will attract more enthusiasts than it did, said organiser Luzuko Mampofu.

Athletes seen during the eight hour aerobics marathon. Photo: Supplied

Some of athletes in the recent fun and sport. Photo: Supplied.

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Eight hours of aerobics - Grocott's Mail - Grocott's Mail Online