For three days in August, the middle of Crescent looked a little different. Mats went down on the mall floor, a run club met at the concourse, rowers and bikes appeared outside Diesel, and on Friday night a yoga class ran long after the shutters came down.
The Wellness Event has been and gone, and it was a weekend. Thank you to everyone who came, moved, breathed, ran, browsed and stayed for a coffee afterwards.
Friday night, after hours
The weekend opened once the centre had closed. At nine o’clock, Meg Wren led Techno Yoga in Unit 17, an hour and a quarter of practice in a shopping centre with nobody shopping. Getting to lie flat in the middle of a place you normally walk through in a hurry is not an ordinary Friday night.
Saturday, the long one
Saturday started at ten and did not really stop. The Local Vendor Market ran all day in Unit 17 with makers and small businesses from around Limerick. Out on the concourse, 061 Run Club and Graceful Pilates teamed up, a run followed by a mat class, Grace and Prav taking one half each.
From eleven, Boxing for Beginners ran twice, back to back, for anyone who had never put gloves on before. Aoife from Wave Coaching led Restorative Breathwork at noon. At two it was Chair Yoga with Village Wellness, built so nobody is left out by what their body can do that day. Vanilla Matcha closed the evening with Pilates at six.
Sunday, and the mall became a gym
Sunday opened with a 5km social run from the Central Concourse. Later, Colm Skehan from TBB Fitness took TRYROX, a first look at HYROX for anyone curious, while Kath led a Navakarana session opposite McCabes. Aoife came back at noon for Release, Restore and Realign, and Sinead Garry closed the weekend with Osteo Fit and Strong.
Alongside the classes, the floor outside Diesel filled up with bikes, rowers and ski ergs, and Pop Up Fitness ran open sessions on the mall floor that anyone could join. Plenty of people stopped to watch, and a good number ended up joining in.
The hang challenge
One of the quieter hits of the weekend. Hang on for one minute forty five and win a fifty euro Crescent voucher. It looks easy written down. It was not, and the crowd that gathered every time somebody had a go was half the fun.
Not just for the grown ups
Face painting, treats and a very large teddy kept the younger visitors going while the adults were busy being virtuous.
The schuh club competition
Running alongside the weekend, schuh at Crescent gave one shopper ninety euro to spend on a full price pair. Entry was in store and open to THE SCHUH CLUB members, with everyone who joined or checked in over the three days entered automatically. The winner will be contacted directly by schuh.
Thank you
To Meg Wren, Grace O’Donnell, 061 Run Club, Aoife at Wave Coaching, Sinead Garry, Colm Skehan and everyone at TBB Fitness, Kath, Pop Up Fitness, the run clubs, Vanilla Matcha, Village Wellness and every vendor at the Saturday market: thank you. The weekend was as much yours as ours.
And to everyone who turned up on a Friday night to do yoga in a shopping centre, or brought a friend to their first boxing class, or just sat on a bench and watched the whole thing go by: that is the part we will remember.
Crescent is open as usual seven days a week. Whatever brought you in for the first time last weekend, we would love to see you back.
