Baldwin ? Baker University will no longer have to compete with Lawrence Memorial Hospital when it hosts the Community Wellness Festival.

Instead they are joining forces Saturday.

In the past, Lawrence Memorial Hospital also had a health fair during the spring, according to Ruth Sarna, director of Baker University’s student health services and chairwoman of the Wellness Festival.

“This year Lawrence Memorial is going to be here with a lot of their services to present,” Sarna said. “They are not having a spring health fair, so our fair is the one for the community this spring. They will have a fair in the fall.”

The sixth annual wellness festival will be from 9 a.m. to noon at the Collins Center on Baker’s campus. The event is free and open to the public.

More than 55 exhibitors will participate in the event, which has attracted more people each year since its creation.

“It’s just a fun day and a great event,” Sarna said. “It has grown over the years. Last year, I think we had more than 300 people in attendance. I am very excited about it.”

The festival will provide free health screenings for blood pressure, posture check, body fat, bone density, hearing, lung volume and vision.

“The free opportunities of the hearing, eye sight, blood pressure and bone density checks are excellent opportunities for people to take advantage of,” Sarna said. “Let alone the value of the cholesterol testing. That is a tremendous savings from what people would have to pay if they had it done at the hospital or other places.”

There will be drawings for prizes, including bicycles for an adult and two children. All children will receive a free bicycle helmet if accompanied by an adult. The first 200 attendees will receive a free T-shirt.

For more information, contact Debbie Guenther at (785) 594-8409 or debbie.guenther@bakeru.edu. Anyone needing transportation to the festival should call Jackie Lorenzen at (785) 594-2411.