Bri Holden on Parkinson’s Awareness event at Myrick, how to treat the disease

Bri Holden in the WIZM studio helping us navigate the world of Parkinson’s disease, as she’s helping put on the 3rd Annual La Crosse Area Parkinson’s Walk and Awareness event.

La Crosse Talk airs weekdays at 6-8 a.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk wherever you get your podcasts.

What Holden needs everyone to do is sign up (here) by April 20 to that all-important t-shirt, then come out to the event that happens at Myrick Park in less than a month.

Holden is the program coordinator at the STAR Center in La Crosse — across from Rudy’s. She helps those with Parkinson’s ward off the incurable disease through different types of therapeutic recreation, like Rocksteady Boxing.

The Parkinson’s awareness event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 10. That includes a 1-mile walk, food trucks, live music, exercise demonstrations, kids’ activities and resource booths.

Proceeds from the event will go toward the STAR Center Parkinson’s Disease Exercise programs, local education, and support programs in the community. Donations will also go toward the Michael J. Fox Foundation and future research.

Now, while Holden helped break down various aspects of Parkinson’s and how important exercise is for those who have it, we passed on some mid-1980s and 1990s culture to her. 

First, Holden had never seen the movie Back to the Future, which portrays Michael J. Fox in his prime. 

And, while she’s running the Rocksteady Boxing classes at the Star Center, she did not know that Rocksteady is also an evil villain Rhinoceros in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — though it does appear that the boxing and the villain are not related.