Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This week on iHeart Sensey.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
It's one of the biggest events in Cincinnati. It's all
free and it's all about you and your family.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
It's something that everyone can come down, feel good about
and have a wonderful time at.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
The Kroger Wellness Festival is coming up next weekend here
in Cincinnati. My guest today is Danielle Gentry with Kroger,
to give you a preview of this tremendous opportunity that
you have in prioritizing your health and wellness and that
of your family as well.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
The Wellness Festival is really here to serve you in
terms of your physical health, your mental health, and your
emotional health.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Danielle has all the information you need to know to go,
when and where, what to expect, what to bring, what
to leave it home. The one big thing you should
take with you is the whole family, because she says
there is something for everyone at the Kroger Wellness Festival.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Now on iHeart Sensey with Sandy Collins.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
All right, my first guest Danielle Gentry with the Kroger
Wellness Festival that's coming up next weekend here in Cincinnati.
We caught up late this week on a team's video
call while she was on the road in northern Kentucky.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Are we doing visuals or no?
Speaker 1 (01:13):
No, not.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Okay, because I was gonna be like, so, Sandy, we
got this background, we can blur it.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
We can pretend like I'm in an office.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
I'm actually in our new Edgewood, Kentucky store. So we
just opened and it is absolutely beautiful here and we're
on grand opening day number one, and so I was like,
let me go find a quiet room for me to
have this interview in.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Well, that is so nice that you were able to
slide us in here in between all of the business
down there in Edgeword. You see a location there in Edgewood.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
So it's thirty seventy three Dixie Highway, gotcha, and it's
in Edgewood.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
In it is a beautiful store. You have to come
down and visit.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
They have a deli here where you can really, I
mean you have like the full deli experience. They're making
sand which is in front of you. It's a beautiful story.
It would be worth doing a story about if you
haven't thought about.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
It, it would be worth doing a story about it.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
That sounds good.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I'll tell my man on the Street reporter and see
if we can get him down there.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
That'll be fun awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
So, Danielle, I was I'm a history buff, and I like,
you know, knowing the background to names and locations, and
so I was looking up Kroger to try to figure out,
you know, was there a Kroger and when and where?
And so I found this chat GPT summary of Barney
(02:37):
Kroger who was here in eighteen eighty three. And yeah,
I wasn't sure how much of that history that you knew.
So I wasn't going to put you on the spot
and drill you on all this all these facts.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
I know that I know what you just said.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
And the reason why I know that is because he
opened up Kroger exactly one hundred years before I was born.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
That always sticks out to me. So I'm like, that's
going to be easy.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
But it's interesting that you say that. Do you ever
watch the History Channels Built America series?
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
I seen that, Yes, Okay, so there is one that
I've been trying to catch.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
It came on I don't know.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I think it originally aired back in twenty twenty three,
and then it came on again a couple of weeks ago,
but it was supermarkets that built America, and I only
saw like the first half of it.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
But of course Kroger was mentioned.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Pigley Wiggley was in there, and so I want to
see if I can find that somewhere. Well, you would
probably enjoy that if you like history, because I like
history also.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Absolutely. My friend chat GPT tells me that it says,
in short, Kroger grew from a single Cincinnati store into
a national supermarket powerhouse by continually innovating in how Americans
shop for food, and that was something I didn't realize
that so he emphasized holiday products, low prices.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
And one stop shopping in eighteen eighty three.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
That is just so funny that he would find that
market and then stick with it for all these years.
So Kroger is a very big part of our lives
growing up here in Cincinnati. But I do have a
friend that came from Iowa who is very angry and
people who call it Kroger's. I'm going to Kroger's so
(04:27):
and I say, well, that's what it is. It's Kroger's,
And no it's not. It's Kroger And so we argue
about this. So then I say, well, you know what
we used to do in college. We called it Crogers
because it looks better, and she said, no, there was
an e in that name. That was a German name.
So we'd go back and forth. But I had to
get you on the on the on the line.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Here is it Kroger or Kroger's.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
It is Kroger without you add that SN when you
are talking about the groceries that you are part just
see all right, so otherwise it is Kroger without an S.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Well, you're on the hook there there you go. Very fun,
Thanks for playing along. So the Wellness Festival is enormous.
If you have been here in the Tri State area
for any length of time, you may have heard about it,
you may have gone to it. But this year it's
moved and it is bigger and better than ever and
all of this stuff is free, which is just mind boggling.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
So let's start there.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Why don't you tell me what it is about the
festival you want us to know this year, and we'll
get started there.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
The Kroger Wellness Festival is one of the biggest events
that happens in Cincinnati, and it's something that everyone can
come down feel good about and have a wonderful time at.
This year is taking place September twenty sixth through the
twenty seventh, eleven am until seven pm both days downtown
(05:58):
on Fifth Street. Our footprint is bigger this year. We
still have all of the same experiences that you would
normally look to have when you come to the Kroger
Wellness Festival. So we have some cooking demos, we have
some workouts taking place, we have things for the kids
to do. Whether you're young or you're old, there's something
(06:18):
for everyone to experience.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
At the Croger Wellness Festival.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Our presenting sponsor is Vitamin Water zero Sugar.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
So when you start.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Thinking through all of the different products that are going
to be down at the Wellness Festival, of course Vitamin
Water zero Sugar is providing several products, but then there
are plenty of other companies that are providing products to
no matter what category you're thinking in. So there will
be companies downtown that will be providing health and beauty
care items. There will be companies downtown providing food and
(06:50):
beverage items. What I can say is that regardless of
what you're coming down and you're looking for, we have
something for everyone at the Wellness Festival.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Speaking of that, do people need to eat before they
come down or is there going to be food aval.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
They probably don't need to eat before they come down.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
Everywhere that you turn, there's.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Going to be samples or things for you to take home.
One of the really nice things about the Wellness Festival
is that the samples that are given out they're not small.
They tend to be pretty big and hearty. So if
you want to come down and walk around and try
the different samples and take the different products home that
the companies are.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Offering, you're more than welcome to do that.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
One of the fan favorites that we present every single
year is our Produce Alley. So what happens down Produce
ALLEI is you come, you get a bag, and you
walk down a long walkway where you're going to receive
things like peppers, corn on the cob, avocados, apples, bananas, pineapple, watermelon, carrots.
(07:52):
There's all different types of fruits and vegetables that you're
going to receive down Produce Sally. And if you want
to open up that banana, you can certainly do it there,
or you can take it home and you can enjoy
it with your family.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
All right, So you've got concerts on Friday and Saturday.
You've got special guests including Alex Rodriguez, the World Series
champion and three time MVP going to be here. Also,
what else you got going on this Wellness Festival you
want to talk about?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Sure? So some of the other people who are coming
this year are Lori Hernandez and Alison Felix.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Both of them are.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Phenomenal women and they're also just advocates for health. I
love what Alison Felix has done for moms and expectant
moms in terms of advocating for them. We also have
a world renowned chef, Alex Gernicelli, so I love watching
her on Food Network. She's just simply amazing. Then we
(08:51):
also have Dustin Ployer. He's a philanthropist and an MMA star,
and so those are just some of the celebrities that
are coming. Now, when you start talking through the experiences,
I think that those are really cool. One of the
things that I've been sharing with people is that the
Wellness Festival is really here to serve you in terms
of your physical health, your mental health, and your emotional health.
(09:13):
And so we have different activities going on that align
with all of them. So if you want to go
play pickleball, we have a cool pickleball exercise that's taking place.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
If you want to learn more about.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Foods that heal your mood, we have a local chef
that is going to be doing cooking demonstrations and talking
all about how certain foods can help increase the.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
Loose your mood.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
And then we also have a really nice greeting card
workshop where you can write a thank you note to
someone who's made a difference in your life. So, really,
the Wellness Festival isn't just about one form of health
and wellness. It's about every type of health and wellness
that you can think through.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
So the Kroger Wellness Festival is kind of co sponsored
by Kroger and Kroger Health, which is a completely separate
division of Kroger. And I was looking at the enormous
investment that Kroger has made in wellness with all of
the pharmacies and the little clinics and the telehealth clinic meetings.
(10:17):
Can we talk a little bit about Kroger Health and
how that's going to be represented here at the festival.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Sure, So, Kroger Health is the health division of the
Kroger Company. So we have pharmacies in more than twenty
two hundred stores. We have more than two hundred and
twenty clinics across eight different states. We also offer that
telehealth platform because we're really big on convenience and access.
(10:45):
And then we also have our really cool Food is
Medicine program and under Food is Medicine, we want to
help educate people about making healthier decisions that are really
going to fuel them, give them energy.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
You know.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
At Kroger, our purpose is all about feeding the human spirit,
and that's just an extension of what we're doing through
Crower Health and through our healthcare assets.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
My guest is Danielle Gentry with the Krueger Wellness Festival.
We'll have more about what to expect next weekend in
downtown Cincinnati on Fifth Street, as it's a two day
festival this year, feeding your body and your mind all
of the good things that you deserve. That's next on
iHeart Cincy. If you just tuned in, I'm speaking with
(11:30):
Danielle Gentry. She is with Kroger for the Kroger Wellness Festival,
which is two full days this year and they're going
to move it to Fifth Street, which is big, wide, open,
spacious area so that you can go downtown and partake
in all of their amazing cooking demonstrations. They have panel discussions, exhibitions, workshops.
(11:53):
So it sounds to me like this isn't just something
that you go down there for an hour or so
and walk around. This is something that you would want
to dedicate some time to do.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
So again, the time is from eleven am until seven pm,
so we have something for everyone all throughout that timeframe.
There's a variety of different demonstrations, there's a variety of
different panels that are taking place, and a variety of
experiences that are keeping people busy all day long. And
(12:24):
then we end the night with a really fun concert.
So we have Third Eye Blind coming. We also have
the All American Rejects, and then something else that we
do when you think through health, or when you think
through health and wellness for the entire person. We also
have a couple of cool sound engagements that are taking
place throughout the day before.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
You even get to those concerts. So one of them
is all about calming music.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Music has so much power and sometimes you just need
to sit back breathe, free your mind, listen.
Speaker 4 (12:57):
To some relaxing music.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
There's going to be another experience that I'm really looking
forward to going to. That's a silent disco. So that's
where you put on the headphones. Everybody's in the same space.
You have different stations that you can listen to. You're
tuned into whatever your station is, and everyone is just
bopping around and dancing. But it's your own personal party
with a lot of other people.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
So that's something that I'm also.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Looking that's got to be hilarious to watch because yeah, yeah,
observers can't hear any.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Of it, right, oh, right, right, right.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
So this is all on the Kroger website. Where do
we find all this information about the Wellness Festival.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Sure, you can go to Kroger dot com slash Wellness Festival.
You can find the schedule there, you can get all
of the details that you like. So again it's www
dot Kroger dot com slash Wellness Festival. Now, one thing
that I will mention in previous years, people have have
brought down wagons and cards and all types of bags
(13:59):
that are on wheels because we do give away a
lot of products at the Wellness festival. However, this year,
for the safety of everyone who's attending, we're asking people
to leave those those carts and wagons and strollers without
children at home.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
It really is for the safety of everyone.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
We want to make sure that everyone who comes down
is able to walk around freely enjoy themselves without having
to worry about getting their foot rolled over by a
wagon wheel. You know, if you have a child and
a stroller, of course we want you to bring your
child down in his or her stroller, But outside of that,
we're asking that you leave anything else on wheels at home, right.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
So you can't put your fifteen year old in a
stroller and then passion for it. No, really, he needs
to be in the stroller right, right right.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
And it's not just rolling over your feet, Danielle, I'll
tell you, it's it's backing up. I'm always backing up
and over them and putting under your head.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
It's just yeah, yeah, you know, unless it's a small
child and a stroller, or in the case of someone
who's special needs who needs that type of equipment to
get around. Because of course we want everyone to come
down and enjoy themselves, that's completely fine. But this year,
if you can leave your wagon at home. We'll make
sure that you will get a back to put all
(15:15):
of your items in. And we just want everyone to
have a fun and safe time.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
We got some special guests going to be coming this year.
Why don't you tell us who the special guests are
this year and what they're going to be bringing to
the Wellness Festival.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Sure, So this year we have Roblow Hollywood Icon and
New York Signs best selling author podcast.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
At a native of Dayton, Ohio.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Did you know that, Hey, he's coming back home.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
I did not, But he'll be back and he'll be
back in his home area. He'll be back in his
home area. We've got Alex Gernichelli, so she's one of
my favorites.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
I watch her all the time.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
On the Food Network and she's just phenomenal with what
she does. And then we also have a World Series champion,
Alex Rodriguez, so he's going to be doing a session
talking about just staying in the game, keep it going,
you know, when when life gets tough, you just got
to keep.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
On pushing forward.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
We also have Lorie Hernandez and Alison Felix. So those
ladies are Olympians they talk about being advocates for women.
And then the really cool thing that Alison Felix has
done is she's also an advocate for maternal health and
so I'm really looking forward to hearing from her. And
then we also have another big name is Dustin Poyer.
(16:32):
He's a philanthropists and in the MMA Star. So as
you can see, the weekend is going to be jam
packed with celebrities and athletes who are all descending on
Cincinnati to come and talk to us about health and wellness.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
So it's really important to get on that website and
see what the schedule is and make sure you don't
miss the events or the people or the the other
parts of the festival that you would want to see
and just happen to miss. So that is all on
the Kroger Wellness UH website.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Also, let's talk about the music.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Yeah, sure, So we have two concerts this year. We
have Third Eye Blind joining us and then we also
have the All American Rejects. And if you've seen anything
about All American Rejects lately, you'll know that they've been
doing these pop up concerts across the country for free.
They just want everyone to come out. We know that
(17:26):
right now, there's a lot of things are happening across
the country, and so All American Rejects is just there
to bring everybody out, give them some music to listen to,
have a good time, feel good. And they're joining us
at the festival this year, so I know that's going
to be an amazing show as this Third Eye Blind.
I cannot wait to see both of those bands performed.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
So one is Friday, One is Saturday.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
One is Friday. One is Saturday.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
They both kick off right around five thirty, So come
on down. You can go through the Wellness Festival all
day between eleven and five thirty, and it's still open
after five thirty two for those people who may not
just want to sit and you know, or not sit
but stand and listen to the music. But we also
have those concerts taking place also. They're going to be awesome.
(18:12):
I can't wait to hear them.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
What's parking like down there?
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Yeah, so when you come down for the festival, we're
on Fifth Street this year, so it gives us a
bigger footprint than what we've ever had before. So any
of the surrounding parking garages or lots are available for
people to park at and then they can just you know,
park their car and then walk on down.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Yeah, it's pretty easy to get to several dozens of
thousands of people down in the city and get them
gain yeah, to go. This would just make Barney Kroger
just over the moon, wouldn't it. Could you imagine if
he was able to like transform from eighteen eighty three
to now and to see what he has built and
the lives that he touches, not only here but across
(18:57):
the country. And Kroger also owns stores under other names,
and I was so excited about that.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Danielle.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
I went to Salt Lake City and worked a couple
of years, and I went to the grocery store and
it was called Smith's and I and it looked just
like Kroger, and I was like, wow, this just makes
me feel like I'm at home.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I had no idea that they were, you know, run
by Kroger. So I went to the.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Checkout and it asked she I think she asked me
for my shopper card or something. I said, well, no,
I don't, I'm not from here. I have a Kroger card,
but I don't have that, and she goes, well, that'll
work here, I said, what are you talking about? So
I put my card in there and it was the
same thing, and I was able to transfer all my
prescriptions from Ohio to Salt Lake seamlessly. It was all there,
(19:45):
and it was just such a taste of home that
I deeply needed. I deeply needed, and so that was
my that was my go to place in Salt Lake.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
So you guys have Smiths, Do you have other names
of a off the.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Top of we do? We do?
Speaker 3 (20:02):
We have Smiths, we have Ralph's, we have Fries. So
there's several different stores that we have all across the country,
and they may be under different names, but we're hoping
that when you walk in any of our family of
stores that you're going to experience the same courtesy, the
same full, fresh and friendly experience that you would in
any other store around the country.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Any final thoughts or Danielle about the Wellness Festival.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
I would just encourage everyone to go to www. Dot
Kroger dot com slash Wellness Festival for additional information. The
entire lineup of everyone who's going to be there over
the weekend is going to be on that website. You
can once again see the times, the dates, but we
really just want everyone to come down and have a
great time. Again, Please leave your wagons and carts at home,
(20:51):
but bring your whole family. We can't wait to see
you at the Wellness Festival.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
And thank you for settling. Whether it's Kroger or Kroger's.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Yes, ma'am, I'm proud to represent Kroger with an R
people who may not just want to sit and you know,
or not sit but stand and listen.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
To the music.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
But we also have those concerts taking place also. They're
going to be awesome. I can't wait to hear them.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
What's parking like down there?
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Yeah, so when you come down for the festival, we're
on Fifth Street this year, so it gives us a
bigger footprint than what we've ever had before. So any
of the surrounding parking garages or lots are available for
people to park at and then they can just you know,
park their car and then walk on down.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Yeah, it's pretty easy to get to several dozens of
thousands of people down in the city and get them
get yeah to go. This would just make Barney Kroger
just over the moon, wouldn't it. Could you imagine if
he was able to like transform from eighteen eighty three
to now and to see what he has built and
the lives that he touches, not only here but across
(21:58):
the country. And Kroger also owns stores under other names,
and I was so excited about that, Danielle. I went
to Salt Lake City and worked a couple of years,
and I went to the grocery store and it was
called Smith's and I and it looked just like Kroger,
and I was like, wow, this just makes me feel
like I'm at home.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
I had no idea that they were, you know, run
by Kroger. So I went to the.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Checkout and it asked, I think she asked me for
my shopper card or something. I said, well, no, I don't,
I'm not from here. I have a Kroger card, but
I don't have that, and she goes.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Well, that'll work here.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
I said, what are you talking about? So I put
my card in there and it was the same thing.
And I was able to transfer all my prescriptions from
Ohio to Salt Lake seamlessly.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
It was all there, and it was just such a
taste of home that I deeply needed, I deeply needed
and so that was my That was my go to
place in Salt Lake. So you guys have Smiths, Do
you have other off the top?
Speaker 4 (23:02):
We do? We do.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
We have Smiths, we have Ralph's, we have Fries. So
there's several different stores that we have all across the
country and they may be under different names, but we're
hoping that when you walk in any of our family
of stores that you're going to experience the same courtesy,
the same full, fresh and friendly experience that you would
in any other store around the country.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Any final thoughts here, Danielle about the Wellness Festival.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
I would just encourage everyone to go to www Dot
kroger dot com slash Wellness Festival for additional information. The
entire lineup of everyone who's going to be there over
the weekend is going to be on that website. You
can once again see the times, the dates. But we
really just want everyone to come down and.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Have a great time.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Again, Please leave your wagons and carts at home, but.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
Bring your whole family.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
We can't wait to see you at the Wellness Festival and.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Thank you for settling. Whether it's Kroger or Kroger's.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Yes, ma'am, I'm proud to represent Kroger with an.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
R that sounds good. Thank you Danielle Gentry with Kroger.
That Kroger Wellness Festival once again. There's a website with
all the information on it. Just go to the Kroger
Wellness Festival website and find out more. It is September
twenty fifth and twenty sixth downtown Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
That is on Fifth Street.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
It's all wide open, plenty of space, thousands of people
and lots of free giveaways. I mean, all these companies
that are involved are getting product samples into your hands.
They just asked that you do not bring any wagons
or any carts because with so many people, they want
to make sure that everyone is safe and not tripping
(24:44):
or running over each other. So if you want more details,
just go to that Kroger website and check out the
Kroger Wellness Festival.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
Hope you enjoyed the show this week.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
If you have any questions or comments, just drop me
a line anytime. The email address is iHeart Sincy with
an I at iHeartMedia dot com. That's Iheartsincy at iHeartMedia
dot com. Also, if you have an interesting job or
you know of someone that's just got a very cool vocation.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
I'd like to hear from you.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
We're doing a new series here on iHeart Cincy about
vocations and choosing your career or figuring out what you
want to do at the end of your current career,
and maybe switching careers midlife.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
You know, maybe you're fifty years old.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
And saying, you know, I've always wanted to be a
fill in the blank. Well, we're going to be featuring
folks like that. So if you'd like to be a
guest on the show with your vocation, drop me an
email again, just put vocations in the subject line and
send it to Iheartsincy at iHeartMedia dot com.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
I'm your host, Sandy Collins. Thanks for listening. We'll hope
to see back here next week.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
iHeart Sinsey is a production of iHeartMedia, Cincinnati,