Vitality City Kicks off Blue Zones Project

As the Healthways-Blue Zones Vitality City initiative tries to get Beach Cities residents "on the same page" with a community read of Dan Buettner's bestselling book, The Blue Zones, program officials kicked off the Blue Zones Project on Wednesday night at the .

The kickoff event, which organizers said attracted more than 800 people, featured both actress Goldie Hawn and Buettner.

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The goal of the new Blue Zones Project—a national expansion of the Vitality City initiative—is to get the Beach Cities certified as a Blue Zones Community, meaning a certain percentage of residents, companies and schools have pledged to make the healthy choice the easy choice.

In front of the packed theater, the speakers described what Beach Cities residents need to do to make the community the first Blue Zones Community as well as pointed out the steps that local businesses have already taken, such as achieving .

As an incentive for attendance, organizers offered $500 to the group with the largest number of attendees and $500 to the most spirited group. The won the first prize, while the April's Fools Comedy Troupe won the second.

In addition to the Blue Zones Project kickoff, Vitality City officials are hoping that the community read of The Blue Zones will encourage people to think more about their well being. The book focuses on so-called "Blue Zones"—communities that have a higher-than-average life expectancy.

The purpose of the On the Same Page workshops is to educate the community about the Vitality City initiative. Some of the workshops have included wine tastings, yoga classes and cooking demonstrations.

There are at least two more workshops scheduled. One will be at the Hermosa Beach Public Library on , and another will be at in North Redondo Beach on