Make NYC Your Gym Hosts BeFitNYC Fitness Fest in Washington Square Park

As the grand finale of "Make NYC Your Gym" week the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene and NYC Parks, in partnership with Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, will host a BeFitNYC Fitness Festival to showcase some of the greatest fitness findings in all of NYC, including: Zumba, Intensati & other Shape Up NYC classes led by Equinox; Intro to Quidditch; Running Analysis by JackRabbit Sports; Handcycling Demonstrations provided by the United Spinal Association; and a MillionTreesNYC Watering Blitz. The event will feature activities by NYC Parks and BeFitNYC Partners, including the Knicks Groove Truck, the New York City Mountain Biking Association, WalkNYC, the Randall's Island Sports Foundation, Lacrosse, Volleyball, Kids in Motion, Greenmarket vendors, and MORE! The BeFitNYC Fitness Festival is a free event, open to the public.

Who: Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe; Health Commissioner Thomas Farley

Where: Washington Square Park, Fifth Avenue and Waverly Place, Manhattan

When: Event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Speaking Program at 1:30 p.m.

Why: BeFitNYC is an online search engine for free and low-cost fitness opportunities across New York City that has been enhanced this spring to improve search functionality and allow users to encourage friends and family to join in fitness events through Facebook. The BeFitNYC Facebook Application will be the platform for calling New Yorkers of all interests to get fit together in Washington Square Park on June 12th, a day of energizing activities that can be found on BeFitNYC for all ages and levels of ability, bringing the website to life! Regular physical activity reduces the risk of many chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes and helps to combat obesity, a serious and growing problem in the United States.