As I approached the parking lot entance to the Woman's Club of Maplewood where the 2009 Mindful Living Health and Wellness Fair was being held on this Sunday "Spring" afternoon,  I asked myself the usual pre-coverage questions. What am I going to find?  What is the story surrounding the event?

Those questions seemed more intriguing than usual. There was a stream of visitors exiting the premises and an equal stream of visitors were making their way inside.  The event was billed as a wellness fair, but people already looked pretty "well" to me, as their pace was brisk and purposeful. Something was definitely going on here.

Inside, I found a packed house full of health-centric vendors, busily demonstrating their particular brand of holistic services and products to a clearly committed group of guests.

When my first test flash accidentally fired in my face, a light went off in my head--OK, my eyes--and it began to all make sense. This is Maplewood; mecca to  the adventurous, the curious, the diverse and of course the unconvetional. Holistic clearly seemed right at home here.

With my unofficial count of 73 vendors (I think I took out one table with my swinging camera bag) the category list of mainly local and nearby providers included  Accupuncture, Baby/Family, Body Care Products, Body Work (no automobiles), Centers, Chiropractic, Coaching, Colonhydrotherapy (no live demonstrations), Entertainment, Fitness, Food, Green Living, Home, Integrative Medicine, Massage, Media, Nutrition, Non-Profit, (and For-Profit of course), Personal Growth, Professional Networks, Psychotherapy, Retreats, Sleep Solutions, Spirituality and naturally, Vitamins and Supplements.

The event's corporate and media sponsors were Whole Foods and Matters Magazine. The volunteers did a great job  set up a trafficable layout to accomodate the throngs.

Leaving the event, my signature leathers still redolent with the fragrance of scented candles, oils and soaps, my tastebuds still savoring fruit flavored tidbits, energy drinks and seeds, and my hair standing up as if zapped with a static charge (Maybe the result of the little Reiki treatment I received to sooth the ubiquitous stress), I was surprised to find myself feeling actually somewhat more "energetic."

Still, with all that good and healthy stuff I experienced, I wasn't going to feel too guilty to head home and have my franks 'n beans dinner. After all, the franks were Kosher, and the label on the can of beans proclaimed that they were "vegetarian."

Up-to date listings of Mindful Living NJ events  and services can be found here.