Summit Bohannon, a 20-something who lives in The Dalles, has fully embraced the social aspect of the Blue Zones Project and has set up four different weekly get-togethers around various activities, from music to just hanging out and picking up trash.
The Blue Zones Project is a community wellness endeavor that encourages healthy activities, including socializing.
Bohannon has set up get-togethers for every Tuesday at 5 p.m., Thursdays at 4 p.m., and two events on Sundays, at noon and 2 p.m.
He’s got the schedule of events listed on four Facebook pages, one for each get-together.
He said in a recent Facebook post, “Having grown up here, I’ve experienced first-hand the struggle of striving to live an engaged, passionate and purposeful life. I have found that because my community is divided and disconnected in many ways, I (like many of you out there) fall back into a place of boredom, lack of motivation and a general state of depression that holds me back from what I feel is my true potential (sound familiar?)”
Referencing the “it takes a village to raise a child” saying, he wrote, “Well, I’m more or less a “child” looking to restore connection, trust and a sense of belonging to all the people throughout my “village.”
He said he strongly believes that improving the health and well-being of the town will help to heal, empower and prepare people, especially youth, for a better future.
Tuesdays at 5 p.m. is a community ride featuring anything with wheels, from biking, skating, scootering to rollerblading. Runners are also welcome to join, he said. Each ride will have a destination for some downtime including art and music, maybe a picnic or yoga, Bohannon said in a Facebook post.
The next event is Tuesday, June 12, starting at Rivertap, 703 E. 2nd St. Events scheduled throughout the summer are listed on the Facebook page “The Dalles Community Ride!”
Thursdays at 4 p.m. is an “Express yourself” event, held at various places around town, and it is about exploring and experiencing the arts, from sharing stories and insights, song and dance, self expression and more.
Details about the weekly locations can be found on Facebook at the page “Express Yourself.” The next event is at City Park on June 14.
On Sundays, the day starts at noon with the Sunday downshift. This is “a low-key, no expectations, all-are-welcome hang-out happening once a week every Sunday,” he wrote. “Bring your friends and fun stuff to do/share with others!” Possibilities included art, music, yoga, relaxing, reading a book, eating lunch together, practicing arts and hobbies or just enjoying some downtime.
The schedule for Sunday downshifts over the summer can be found on Facebook at “Sunday Downshift in The Dalles.”
On June 17, the Sunday downshift meets at The Dalles Middle School near the basketball courts.
Downshift is described as a daily ritual that reduces stress, according to the Blue Zones Project.
The Blue Zones Project was founded after researcher Dan Buettner scoured the world looking for where people lived the longest, and then studying what they did to achieve longevity.
He found nine common denominators, called the Power 9. They range from moving naturally to eating a plant-based diet to living with purpose and taking time to relax.
The Dalles is one of four communities in Oregon with a three-year Blue Zones Project program.
The goal is to get people to “live longer, better.”
After that hang-out session wraps at around 2 p.m., that’s when the community wellness walk begins. Those are times to take a stroll with others while cleaning up trash. “It’s a great, simple way to get outside and give back to the world around us that gives us so much!” Bohannon wrote. “Also a great way to earn community service hours, meet and connect with others and get some feel-good exercise!”
The schedule for the summer can be found on Facebook at “The Dalles Community Wellness Walk.”
On Sunday, June 17, the wellness walk will start at the middle school and proceed through neighborhoods, picking up garbage along the way.
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