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Harlem came out in full force on June 25th at Marcus Gravey Park to celebrate Harlem Health Day.
 The Apollo Theater Foundation, along with Affinity Health Plan and North General Hospital created the Harlem Health Day Health Fair to celebrate total health awareness in the Harlem community. The fair, a family orientated event, took place at 12:00pm and lasted until 5:00pm.
Hot 97 radio personalities Sunny and Raqiyah Mays hosted the event. Special guests appearances at the fair included U.S senator Charles Schumer, Assembly member Keith L.T Wright. There were musical performances by Damon Dash Music Group artists Rell, Rebel Soul music singer Martin Luther, reggaeton star Notch and legendary R&B singer Chuck Jackson.
Justina Mercer, Nancy Simeon-Chatman, G. Chezia Carraway of GMHC
Throughout the park there were information stations from a list of organizations including Stroke of Hope, The Partnership for Prescription Assistance, Harlem Children’s Zone, NYC Blood Services, and many more.
To begin the festivities city councilman Bill Perkins led the Harlem Health Day Proclamation Ceremony. The Fair’s attendees ranged from young children to senior citizens. They roamed the park to participate in the many activities available. Many attendees were urged to take any of the list of health screenings offered at the fair including exams for prostate and breast cancer, foot, skin and dental exams, blood pressure, HIV, hepatitis C, cholesterol, glucose, mental, health and glaucoma. 
For the younger crowd at the fair there was a face painting area, a dunk tank, relay races, and a double dutch contest. For the adults there were yoga classes and massages.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing [the fair],”said Shanynii Davidson, a Massage Therapist participating in the fair. “It’s the first time I’ve been out in an event like this in Harlem and I’m really excited and I hope a lot of people benefit.”
The fair also provided free food for those who came out and special giveaways.
There were many stations providing nutrition advice and many others promoting safer sex and supplied ample amounts of condoms (both male and female), lubricants, and literature about safer sex and HIV.
A booth from The Foundation Society gave out literature on safer sex and provided a visual demo on how to use a male condom and a female condom using a replica vagina and penis.
Representatives from the Women’s Institute were present at the fair. They gave out literature about HIV and AIDS, safer sex for lesbians, and substance and alcohol abuse. They also handed out small hand held radios, “pussy packs” which are small boxes with a cat on it with condoms, lubricant, dental dams, and pamphlets inside.
Representatives from Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) www.phrma.org were at the fair providing information on how to get prescription medicine coverage.
A representative, Julia Shaw, of Warm Spirit, www.warmspirit.org, was in attendance promoting the company’s collection of nature-based beauty and healthcare products.
Also at the fair was Shanynii Davidson, a Massage Therapist,
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. She performed free ten-minute massages for attendees. Her mission is to bring massage to people of color in the urban communities and to educate people on healthy, healing touch, the benefits of massage, and self care.“A lot of people in Harlem don’t get to experience this type of work,” said Shanynii. “I came here to educate people on massage and have them experience the work and understand it’s  accessible to them.”
All in all the Harlem Health Day Fair was a success.
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