PORT ANGELES — This Sunday, people will be freezing in Sequim.
In the middle of a busy place — the location of which remains a secret until then — a team formed by Julia Anderson will stop moving.
They will stay frozen for about four minutes, or long enough for passers-by to wonder what in the world is going on.
This “freeze mob,” to happen at high noon Sunday, is the first of three events to promote something that seems entirely unrelated: the American Massage Therapy Association’s massage awareness week, which begins Sunday and will end the following Saturday.
This is a week to spread the word about the benefits of bodywork, so Anderson, herself a licensed massage practitioner and owner of Panacea Spa in Port Angeles, is assembling the Sunday freeze mob in Sequim, as well as a second freeze at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Port Angeles.
She’s still accepting freeze-mob participants and can be reached at Panacea at 360-457-7374.
Flash mob
And the climax of the awareness week is a flash mob — in fact a flash dance — in Port Angeles at 11 a.m. Saturday.
While freeze mobsters need neither experience nor rehearsals, they will be asked to attend an informational meeting.
As for the flash mob, participants will need to join in practice sessions and meetings.
Youngsters are also welcome to participate, Anderson added.
“I’m not putting any age limit on it. They just have to be able to stand still for four minutes” Sunday or Wednesday, or do the dance next Saturday.
The Panacea Spa-sponsored dance is up on YouTube, she added, while information about the freeze and flash efforts can be found at www.PanaceaSpaNow.com and on Facebook via “flash mob massage awareness week.”
Offline, more mob details are available at Panacea Spa itself, at 118 N. Liberty St. in Port Angeles.
“I wanted to do something pretty big for Massage Awareness Week,” Anderson said.
“I’m trying to get other businesses that offer massage in Sequim, Port Angeles and Port Townsend to participate and highlight their businesses.”
Clallam County has 169 licensed massage therapists, while Jefferson County has 137 according to the state Department of Health.
Free chair massages
To maximize the mobs’ impact, Anderson is keeping their locations undisclosed. Those who witness the freeze mobs Sunday and Wednesday will discover what they’re about, she said, as the participants hand out business cards and information about massage therapy.
Right after the final flash mob next Saturday, participants will offer free chair massages, Anderson added.
Along with promoting the benefits of massage therapy, Anderson naturally wants to raise awareness of Panacea Spa.
She changed her business name from Gateway Therapeutic Spa earlier this year.
“I just love what it means: a remedy to cure all,” said Anderson, a licensed massage practitioner for 16 years and owner of the spa for 11 years.
Research has shown that massage — such as neck-and-shoulder, Swedish, Thai and prenatal — gives relief from stress, helps ease anxiety and pain and boosts the immune system, according to an article at www.MayoClinic.com.
In other words, a massage from a skilled practitioner is “taking care of the body from the inside out,” Anderson said.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
