Local businesses and the Conway community partnered together to inform the public about alternative health options during the Natural State Wellness Fest on March 1.

The festival featured local artist Jeanetta Darley, community businesses that offer alternative and holistic health options, and speakers who presented throughout the day.

Two such speakers were Dr. Jim Galvin who spoke on brain-based chiropractic care and Garrett Collums who spoke on functional mushrooms and nutrition.

Following his presentation, chiropractor Jim Galvin had more to say about the purpose of his speech.

He said he wanted people to understand “that chiropractics is more about the nervous system and the body’s ability to function and heal at 100% more so than the typical model of back and neck pain management.”

“Everybody can benefit from a fully functional nervous system and in a spine and body that has structural integrity, and it’s much easier to maintain those things over a lifetime than it is to be reactionary and try and fix something once it’s broken,” Galvin said.

This year marks three years since Emily Rhoda and her business Righteous Remedies started hosting the event in downtown Conway.

She said the reason for holding the event was because she desires to be “an advocate for alternative medicine.”

“I thought Conway needed an event like this,” she said.

Vendors lined the venue walls at Brick Room Events and spoke with anyone who stopped by.

One such vendor was Hippie Hounds, a business focused on providing healthy hemp treats and medicinal products for pets.

Andrea Harris, founder of Hippie Hounds and certified veterinary cannabis counselor, said she is dedicated to “rigorous quality control and compassionate care.” 

“It’s a natural approach for pet parents that don’t want to use traditional pharmaceuticals for anxiety or pain management or neuroprotection,” she said.

She said she advises pet owners to “observe your dog and pay attention to your dog. It starts there with total wellness: it’s nutrition, it’s diet, it’s exercise and it’s stimulation.”

According to Harris, Hippie Hounds is “100% vegan, 100% all-natural, made in the USA, and they’re manufactured from start to finish in Conway, Arkansas.”

“It’s hard to find our ingredients in products today. You know, when you look at our bag, it’s whole wheat flour, it’s pumpkin puree, it’s peanut butter, it’s, you know, hemp oil and coconut oil. It’s natural things that you’re gonna find in your own cupboard and home,” Harris said.

Another vendor, Ashlee Bowden of Groovy Bloom, offers all-natural and locally produced beauty products.

Bowden said she started her business “because I was really wanting to shift from all the chemically processed stuff that you see on the drug store shelves or the supermarket shelves.” 

Bowden had more to say about her products themselves.

“Some of them were inspired by biblical texts, like the woman with the alabaster jar, how she poured out the pure nard. One of them includes black yard and hyssop, which is an ancient cleansing remedy and healing remedy,” she said. 

Bowden commented on why she thinks these events are important.

“I think that more people need to know about holistic health and natural remedies and natural ways of treating things and shopping local is something that we really need to focus more on, especially the way that our economy is right now,” she said.

Participant Jenny Andrews, commenting on her experience, said, “I’ve always been interested in these kinds of events.

“We have never just ventured out and tried one, so I’m glad I came to some interesting things going on here and had an educational and good time,” she said.