If laughter is the best medicine, then Dr. Art Hister is the doctor to bring it to Barriere.
Hister is an expert on providing a human face to the mysteries of medical science and the health industry.
The doctor will be the keynote speaker at the Celebration of Rural Living Expo and Trade Show at the North Thompson Agriplex in Barriere on Saturday April 27, at 11 a.m. Dr. Hister will give a one hour presentation, and will be onsite for most of the day.
Organizers of the event say they are most excited to have such a respected and sought after popular speaker in attendance at the Expo. And they note that the admission fee into the Expo and Trade Show is just $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and students, with children 12 years and under free.
There is no additional charge to hear Dr. Hister speak. He will be one of a full slate of speakers and demonstrations that will be running continuously throughout the two day event.
Hister combines humour, common sense and plain language, to help make the often frightening and confusing world of medicine understandable to all, and accessible to everyone.
“I don’t talk about anything that is rocket science. I talk about healthy living, healthy lifestyles. I tell a lot of jokes which seem to work. I try to convince the audience why they should be living a healthy lifestyle, what I think they should be doing, which elements are the most important. But then we have a terrific amount of fun in the question period. They can pepper me with anything they want to ask me,” says Hister.
He also notes he has been a full time “media doctor” since 1991, has worked as a health analyst for BBC Radio in the UK, CBC Newsworld, and the Corus Radio Network, and is currently a daily health analyst for Global TV News in B.C.
Hister is also a health columnist for several publications and web sites, including TV Week and the London Drugs E-Newsletter, as well as the author of two Canadian medical best-sellers.
“I’ve also been a consultant for the B.C. government; but then so has nearly everyone who’s lived long enough,” says the doctor.
He is currently associated with several health and wellness organizations, including the BC Alzheimer Society and the Tapestry Foundation where he consults on issues affecting our aging population.
Hister is the past honorary chairman of the BC Alzheimer’s Society Walk for Memories, past Volunteer of the Year for the Canadian Diabetes Association and currently sits on the Board of Governors of the Vancouver Holocaust Educational Centre.
He is also the author of two Canadian bestsellers, Midlife Man and Dr. Art Hister’s Guide to a Longer and Healthier Life, as well as numerous articles for publications such as Reader’s Digest, The Globe and Mail, and The Medical Post.
In his shows, and when he does community presentations, Hister focuses on topics that he feels are going to interest a lot of people.
“I always like to find something that will interest people, and something that they can do something about. I invariably leave people with hope and I try to inject some humour. This is a funny condition being alive so if you can laugh at it and have some fun, we should enjoy it while we’re here.”
The doctor says his proudest achievement, though, is his wonderful family: his wife, Phyllis Simon, to whom he has been married for 42 years), his two fabulous sons, Jonah and Tim, his equally fabulous daughter-in-law, Aviva, and the newest additions, his “gorgeous, talented, smart, amazingly athletic and utterly captivating 23-month-old genius grandchild, Masha, who luckily takes after her grandma, not her grandpa, and my soon to be just as fantastic seven-month-old grandson, Henry, once he gets moving and gets some teeth”.
You can find more information about Dr. Art Hister by going to: www.drart.ca.
Find more about the Apr. 27 and 28, Celebration of Rural Living Expo and Trade Show at: www.ruralexpobarriere.com