Allergy Show Olympia
By Nathalie
One of our highlights in the calendar, the fabulous Allergy Show Olympia, took place last week.
What is the Allergy Show?
It’s the ‘go to’ event for people that follow a free from diet, and wonderful for everyone with allergies to meet just some of the wonderful people in the allergy community who ‘get it’ when it comes to living with allergies on a daily basis! Taking place every year in London, Liverpool and Glasgow, it is ‘the’ go to conference for anyone living with allergies and intolerances.
Brands come together to showcase the products they have on the market that cater for allergies and intolerances. And those of us who support the allergy community run workshops, talks and more to provide as much support as possible!
This year, the Allergy Show hosted a brand new ‘Family Corner’ featuring various different workshops to help support parents and children with allergies.
I was there for 2 of the days, running a workshop designed for children. It featured:
- Glitter
- Posters of the top 14 allergens
- Water
- Lots of shouting and laughing
We also made a huge mess thanks to a LOT of glitter which went down very well with the children involved!
Both sessions were fun, interactive and got the children to understand in simple terms why washing hands and cross contamination is so important to be aware of when it comes to allergies.
Teaching in a positive manner
That’s what the session was all about, teaching in a positive and non confrontational manner, which is exactly what we achieved from the feedback at the show!
The lovely team at Navitas sponsored both sessions, and provided us with the posters! And there’ll be even more for the Liverpool and Glasgow shows, so watch out for more information on them!
As part of the workshop, I asked parents to fill in a 30 second questionnaire, to find out how they feel about eating out with allergies, and if they trust others to make safe food!
It was a wonderful 2 days at the show, helping to explain how allergies need not hold you back and that it is possible to live life to the fullest in spite of allergies.
All the feedback we got during the show will help shape some projects coming up in the near future, and provide the support that many are asking for most!