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News Release
Contact: Rick Spencer, Community Relations Manager
Telephone: 889-5554
Pager: 475-9319

LET'S GET REAL PROGRAM CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS, KWANZAA

(NORFOLK, Va.) November 22, 2005 -- The Bon Secours Hampton Roads Let's Get Real program and St. James United Methodist Church will co-sponsor a Christmas and Kwanzaa Celebration. This holiday gala is scheduled for Tuesday, December 14, 2005, at 6:30 p.m. in the St. James Fellowship Hall, 1533 Queen St., Hampton, Virginia.

"The celebration will capture the sights and sounds of the season in spiritual and ethnic ways," said, Rev. Doris Byrd, St. James pastor.

Christmas Narratives highlight the various Biblical verses that describe the birth of Christ. Also, the significance of Kwanzaa will be explained from a health perspective.

Holiday themes will be captured with decorations, music and the sampling of healthy holiday foods. Let's Get Real Chef Dedra Blount will prepare low-fat and low-sodium samples of pork tenderloin, fish, vegetables and desserts.

"Everyone tends to overeat on the wrong things during the holidays," Blount said. "I will be preparing satisfying options to the traditional holiday fare, which usually consists of chicken and turkey. After Thanksgiving, we are usually tired of poultry. Also, we overdo it with starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, and sugar." Moreover, the chef will prepare samples of green vegetables and desserts that are low in sugar (chocolate mousse and apple tarts).

Let's Get Real, which is sponsored by Bon Secours Hampton Roads, is a heart disease risk reduction program targeting African American women.

For more information or to register for the Christmas and Kwanzaa Celebration, call 889-CARE (2273) by Friday, December 9.

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About Bon Secours Hampton Roads: Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System is a leading health care organization known for providing care for the whole person with grace and clinical distinction. Bon Secours brings together a network of hospitals, ambulatory care sites and rehabilitation and home care services to provide quality health care to the residents of Hampton Roads. Bon Secours includes: Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center, Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, Mary Immaculate Hospital, Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View, Bon Secours Maryview Nursing Care Center, and St. Francis Nursing Center.