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Beverly Blunt, founder and director of Divine Dances of the Delta, hosted a unique event Saturday promoting health and wellness in the community, particularly for African Americans.

The event combined line dancing with a comprehensive health fair, offering attendees a dynamic approach to prioritizing their well-being. Held at the Pine Bluff Convention Center, the event featured over 30 vendors with several hundred people in attendance throughout the day.

“A lot of people have health fairs, but they don’t have the exercise part in it,” explained Blunt, highlighting the inspiration behind the event. “I wanted to invite all of the business owners, and they offer health help.”

The fair featured a variety of health-focused services and activities, including fitness trainers, an aquatic center representative, a Zumba instructor and taekwondo demonstrations.

Beyond physical activity, the event also emphasized holistic health.

“We have people here from JRMC. They’re doing blood pressures, cholesterol, they’re checking your glucose,” Blunt stated. In addition, self-care was a significant focus, with massages, estheticians offering facials and a nutritionist providing guidance on healthy foods. “Everything that’s health-related, they’re here,” she said.

Blunt emphasized the critical importance of such initiatives, especially within the African American community, where health statistics are notably high in Arkansas. “We just need to know that we need to take care of ourselves,” she urged.

Pine Bluff Mayor Vivian Flowers, who gave the welcome, reflected on her past service on the Arkansas Minority Health Commission, noting that efforts like the one at hand are crucial partners. She expressed that many people in Jefferson County are “sick because they’re not being screened.”

Dr. Tochi Amagwula Keeton, owner of Health Wise Wellness Direct PLC, a direct family practice in Pine Bluff, was introduced as an “incredible woman to the community in terms of medicine, in terms of health.”

Keeton, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist who also treats men and women for obesity, shared her motivation for opening her practice. She explained that in traditional settings, she would see “20 to 30 patients a day … and I would have maybe 10 minutes to talk to them.”

This limited time often meant patients weren’t equipped with the tools or access needed for lasting health improvements.

Keeton described Health Wise Wellness as a “health navigation system” that provides patients with “unlimited access to me.” She shared a powerful patient success story with the attendees.

“I’ve got a patient that in her seventies, has been struggling with the disease of obesity for her entire life … She has now lost 60 pounds,” said Keeton. “She gained more time with her grandchildren; she’s now more active, more energetic. And she’s gotten her life back.”

Keeton said such stories are what keep her going as a small business owner.

Acknowledging that not everyone has access to this level of care, Keeton provided actionable advice for attendees to empower themselves. She stressed knowing one’s own blood pressure, weight and hemoglobin A1C. She also passionately urged everyone to get regular screening exams, sharing the cautionary tale of a celebrity who passed away from breast cancer due to not getting screened for 12 years out of fear.

“If you’re afraid of the exam, that there’s something that’s holding you back from getting it, find a physician that you feel comfortable with and talk to them about those fears,” she said.

“I want people to know that you come first, that you take care of you,” added Blunt. “We have times where we don’t have time for ourselves, we’re taking care of our children, our grandchildren, we’re going to school, we’ve got our jobs — take care of you. Just take the one hour for you.”

The health fair concluded in an energetic display of line dancing, bringing together the day’s themes of movement and community well-being.

According to Blunt, Divine Dances of the Delta holds regular line dancing classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2402 E. Harding Ave. in Pine Bluff. Beginner classes start at 5:15 p.m., followed by a regular class from 6-7 p.m. and an advanced class from 7-7:30 p.m.

Beverly Blunt (right), founder and director of Divine Dances of the Delta (3D), hosted a Line Dance Health Fair on Saturday. Pine Bluff Ward 1 councilmember LaTisha Brunson embraces Blunt during the welcome. (Pine Bluff Commercial/Eplunus Colvin)