Keep fit and have fun: Participaction lands in Halifax

Participaction, the organization behind the iconic Body Break television commercials featuring Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod many Canadians grew up with, landed at the Halifax Common on Saturday with 150 ways to keep active for Canada 150.

Tents and activity areas were set up near the playground. Field hockey, surfing, cricket, karate, potato sack racing, tug of war and jump rope were just a few of the exercise options available.

"Twenty per cent of Canadian adults are not getting enough physical activity, which is 150 minutes of activity per week," said Rebecca Jones, marketing manager for Participaction.

"We definitely have an inactivity crisis on our hands in Canada."

According the most recent data from Statistics Canada, 20.2 per cent of adult Canadians age 18 and over are obese.

Jones said the idea behind the Participaction event, called Participation 150 Playlist, was to let Canadians of all ages try out a number of different activities to see what kinds of exercises they like.

"We're just hoping that something will stick," she said.

Brenda Hewitt and her eight-year-old son Connor Hammond heard about the event on the radio and decided to check it out.

"I think exposing kids to different activities can pique interest in things they didn't really know about and I think it's a great idea," said Hewitt.

"I love it here and I think it's good for a bunch of people to interact and play a bunch of games they may not play regularly every day," added Hammond.

Sharon Crawford and her four-year-old daughter Jess were headed to the playground. When they saw the Participaction tents, they decided to see what it was all about. Crawford said ensuring her kids get exercise is a priority.

"I think just the awaremess of it all is good," said Crawford. "We do a lot of outdoor activities and we bicycle and we run together as a family."

Halifax Citadel-Sable Island Liberal MLA Labi Kousoulis brought his family to the event after reading about it in a newspaper.

"I tried out the surfboard, which was very interesting. It looks harder than it is," he said.

"Hopefully the young kids will see the activities and want to do them as they grow up."