An Orillia woman just keeps on trucking in her bid to raise awareness about the merits of holistic healing.
Vanessa Wilson, founder and event coordinator of the Holistic Healing Fair, decided to steer her advertising budget in a new direction, taking her message to the highway on the side of a 53-foot transport truck.
She is offering a $100 gift card to anyone who sees it and shares it on social media.
“We just encourage people to, when they spot it, safely take a photo ... and then tag us on Instagram or Facebook. That automatically enters them in,” Wilson says.
She also asks that people include where they saw the truck.
The truck travels five days a week for seven hours a day through 12 Ontario cities, including Orillia.
"I thought it was really special that it would come to my hometown,” says Wilson, who moved to Orillia when she was in Grade 4.
The truck advertises Wilson’s fair while promoting positive messages like ‘We hope something good happens to you today,’ which is visible on the back doors.
“We’re just hoping to make people smile whenever anybody goes near it,” she says. “Growing up in Orillia, anything is possible if you set your heart to it. It’s really special to have it come through my hometown and I hope that people get to see it."
Wilson started the fair in 2016; her first event attracted about 1,000 people.
“That’s when I knew there were so many people like me who needed help or were just searching for something more,” she says.
“I started it on my own mental health journey,” says Wilson. “Now I’m able to provide a one-stop learning shop for people in terms of how they can make little differences in their lives that make big changes.”
Since the fair’s beginning, Wilson has organized more than 100 events across Ontario.
“All events are free admission, so everyone can freely come and explore the unique avenues of wellness that we showcase,” says Wilson.
She views the fair as a learning experience and an opportunity for people to better their own lives.
“It can provide people with education on what they’re putting on their body, in their body, how they’re speaking to themselves, learning new coping mechanisms," she explained.
"Or there are just feel-good items like jewelry or essential oils. So, it's really education based, and I don’t really put a cap on what is there. I make sure that it’s an open outlet. We’ve had religious groups ... It really has a wide range,” she says.
“Because I’ve been doing it for over eight years now, (vendors) just kind of find me. I’ve built a community of the highest of quality people across Ontario. They have the purest form of love for helping people,” she says.
Wilson says building the fair involved trial, error and a lot of problem solving.
“Honestly my business has been self-taught: problem solving, learning to trust the process and just believing in myself. I didn’t go to school for it, I had no idea really what I was doing. I just followed my footsteps and then it happened," Wilson explained.
Despite this, community support has been vital in the fair’s growth.
“I find that people are coming out and are super supportive. It’s just constantly evolving. I’d love to span it across Canada eventually and I have one scheduled in Newfoundland, which is our first out-of-province one, for 2025,” Wilson says.
“Some people follow us. In our southern Ontario shows some people will go to Newmarket, Mississauga, Vaughan; they’ll go to all of the shows. It’s really special.”
In Orillia, Wilson has been involved with community initiatives before. She ran the pre-pandemic Orillia Talks overdose awareness event and organized vigils for local overdoses and suicide victims at ODAS Park.
“We have such a beautiful community in terms of, when things are going south if you look for the helpers, Orillia is filled with them,” she says. “That’s what Orillia is. There’s a lot of sadness and a lot of people who need help in Orillia, but when you’re looking for the good people who are trying to make a change, we have a lot of them.”
There will be two Holistic Healing Fairs in Orillia during 2025. The first will be on April 13, the second on Nov. 30. Both events will be held at ODAS Park.
Abigail Noble is an intern from Carleton University.
