Charlotte Gluten/Allergen Free Expo Goes On The Road

Have you heard the news through the grapevine yet that the Charlotte Gluten/Allergen Free Expo 2012 planning is underway? And did you hear that we will be graced with the presence of national royalty?!?

Well, it's all true!

Because of the support you all have given the yearly Charlotte event, we are having to expand the space again by double. You have my sincere gratitude for making our work effective. 

But, this means we will now be moving into The Park Expo Center on Independence and Briarcliff Rd.. or as Charlotteans always think of it, the Merchandise Mart building, where they have the Southern Women's Show.

This move will give us 40,000 sq. ft. of space to expand into because after each event, we all say, "We need a bigger space next year." 

Nonetheless, we again have you to thank for giving us a new bar to rise to each year.

The 2012 Expo will feature more value than ever with appearances by:

• Mrs. United States 2011 ~ Shannon Ford, Miss Fla USA 2002, Fantasy Chix, former NFL Miami Dolphin Cheerleader, Advocate for Celiac Awareness, Fitness and the Paleo Lifestyle. Shannon is also a Triathelete. Shannon was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 2 years ago and has made 1 in 133 ~ Celiac Disease Awareness her platform for appearances.
• Dr. Alessio Fasano ~ Director of the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland
• Dr. Peter Osborne ~ Founder of Gluten Free Society, Author, and expert on healing multiple health issues with grain free 
• Chef Peter Reinhart ~ Chef on Assignment, Johnson & Wales Culinary Education Department, and cookbook author, as well as world renowned expert in baking. Chef Reinhart will be releasing a gluten free baking cookbook in August of 2012.
• Up to 200 vendors of fine quality gluten/allergen free products
• Mini Organic Gluten Free & Grass Fed Farmer's Market where attendees can buy locally grown, pesticide free products and complete their shopping trip for the week

& So much more, because you deserve it!

But that's not all.

The Charlotte Gluten/Allergen Free Expo is but one of the events that we are a part of for 2012.

Starting in Houston, Tx. , there will be 7 Expos in 7 cities, with more being added as schedule allows.

February 4, 2012 – Houston, Texas – Hornberger Conference Center at the Texas Medical Research Center 

March 24, 2012 – St. Petersburg, Florida – St. Petersburg Coliseum, Gluten Free For Life Expo brought to you in partnership with the Gluten Intolerance Group of Largo, Fla. 

May 5, 2012 – Charleston, S.C. – Omar Shriner’s Auditorium & Ballroom at Patriot’s Point, Mt. Pleasant 

June 2, 2012 – Charlotte, N.C. – Park Expo Center – This event will be held only one month before the Charlotte area Whole Foods location opens. Don’t miss out on this event as it is in its 3rd successful year with attendance last year of 1,200 

September 23rd. 2012 – Omaha, Nebraska - DC Center 

  

TBD – Raleigh, N.C.(determining dates available in August 2012) 

TBD – New Orleans, Louisiana (determining dates available in October 2012)

(To reach each web page, click on link in text or Expo link at top of page)

Our goals for these events are to educate, bring new products to the public, focus on the Main Street Vendors that have become the manufacturers of tomorrow's gluten/allergen free market, and to raise awareness wherever we are that these health issues have viable solutions in the form of nutrition & supplementation.

.If you think your town is in need of an event, or if you are a vendor who would like to be in our Expos, please contact Nikki Everett at irresistiblyglutenfree@gmail.com

We hope to see you there and having a wonderful experience because we know we will enjoy meeting you all in your home towns while traveling across this great nation.

What is an extraordinary gluten/allergen free event like to attend?
See for yourself...

(You can turn off our music by pausing player below this post)

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Help Camp Weekaneatit Keep The Hope Alive

The Holidays are upon us and it is a time of reaching out to those in need. I am reminded every day as the mother of a tween aged child with celiac disease that self image is so crucial at their age. We are fragile as young adults like that, so unsure of where we fit in the world and who we really are. And as we grow older, we still need to feel connected to others in some fashion. This is why gluten free support groups work for  many people with celiac, gluten sensitivity, food intolerances, autism, etc. For that time that you have support, we are all the "norm" - We belong. I believe that feeling of belonging makes the impossible become the possible.

The video below tells an amazing story of fulfilling that need in a very cool way for a teenager named Jason McElwain who has Autism (to turn off music on our page, scroll to bottom and push pause on player)...

I saw the need for my child, who was diagnosed with celiac disease at age 7, to identify with others like herself. We attended our first support group meeting and she ate dinner with 2 other children who were gluten free. When we walked out of the restaurant, she said to me, "See Mom, there are others just like me." That's when I looked into founding R.O.C.K.(Raising Our Celiac Kids) Charlotte. But that wasn't enough... The first summer after her diagnosis, other kids were going to camp. But how could I send her to day camp at that stage, let alone send her away to summer camp?

So I did random searches online to find a summer camp that was gluten free and Google led me to Camp Weekaneatit through a forum answer about R.O.C.K. Georgia. I sent them an email and signed her up after speaking to the director. She assured me that my gluten free worries were taken care of and I could finally sigh a breath of relief for a break with full knowledge that they had it under control.

Can you imagine the benefits? Your child finally gets to stretch out their independent wings and try being gluten free in a controlled environment free from worry and free from over doting parents. Not only that - they commune with, eat with, talk with others who share their struggles and challenges...And the doting parents get to breathe a sigh of relief in knowing they can quit feeling responsible occasionally for a week and there will be no child feeling sorry for themselves when their days are filled with loads of fun!

Our child still smiles anytime she talks about her experience there. I give Camp Weekaneatit credit for being the turning point in my daughter's ability to accept her illness as a minor disability that will not ever hold her back from achieving her dreams. And that is a cause worth saving if ever there were one...

Camp Weekaneatit has been funded by the Georgia Celiac Foundation for the past couple of years with less and less donation money coming from the public with the current economy. They are at a critical point and need your help...


TO: GEORGIA ROCK AND GEORGIA CELIAC FOUNDATION SUPPORTERS

We are at a critical point… if we do not raise funds through this effort by end of 2011, we will not be able to continue providing Camp Weekaneatit.

In order for Camp Weekaneatit to continue, we must raise funds to make it happen.
Please consider helping…it is easy, won’t take you very long…and your efforts will make a big difference in many lives.



Camp Weekaneatit looks like any other summer camp. You can hear the laughter…You wouldn't know it from looking at them, but all of our campers have celiac disease. They're just kids, having the time of their lives at a camp designed especially for them. Georgia Celiac Foundation’s vision on Camp Weekaneatit was to create a camp exclusively for celiac children, where not only could they experience all of the fun that comes with camp activities, but all food would be gluten free!

Camp Weekaneatit 2010

What: We are asking that you go to the website we have created: http://campweekaneatit.givezooks.com/campaigns/camp-weekaneatit 

On the right side of the page in the list—CLICK on START A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN and then follow the easy 5 steps—IT IS SIMPLE! (it will ask you to join, it is easy and simple!)

It will allow you to make your own page, you can upload a picture of you---and your story of your involvement with camp or celiac disease, set a goal, and how much you want your friends, co-workers, relatives…(you get the idea!) to support this cause. This website is a great fundraising tool, that allows you to spread our word of need in a simple way, asking others to support us. If a lot of people each give what they can, we will meet our goal.

Then you send your link to your page or a button or…to your contacts and …

Then the money will start flying in! All will be able to see your support and progress, so we can all be proud of each other…PLEASE HELP!!!!!

Erin, my daughter at Camp Weekaneatit 2009

We all want Camp Weekaneatit to continue, please take action with me now.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me (info below). We thank you for your support. luck!


Jill Waddell, Camp Weekaneatit Director
campweekaneatit@gmail.com
770.312.9722